TheCity

Author: dardismichelle

  • Focus Ireland launch charity events to help tackle homeless crisis

    Focus Ireland launch charity events to help tackle homeless crisis

    As it stands, up to 5,000 people in Ireland don’t have somewhere to call their home this Christmas, with families sleeping rough, living in emergency shelter or temporary accommodation.

    In 2014, Focus Ireland, the country’s leading charity that works with homeless people, found themselves supporting over 11,000 men, women and children.

    Speaking to The City, Rebecca Reynolds of Focus Ireland said:

    “We have a new type of homelessness, which is coming from a result of economic difficulties.We’re trying our best to meet demands for our services, but demand on us has increased in some places by over 40% in the last few years.

    “Fundraising is so necessary to ensure that we can provide these services that people are looking for and that people need,” she added.

    This year, the charity is doing as much possible to continue their service, organising a whole host of bucket collections and events around the country.

    “We have several collections organised for December,” said Rebecca.

    The charity had a huge collection in the Blanchardstown Shopping Centre on Wednesday the 9th of December, with another bucket collection arranged for Friday December 18th in Dundrum Shopping Centre.

    Meanwhile, the charity are aiming to raise slightly more money with a bigger event in Waterford.

    Focus Ireland have arranged for a charity concert, also on Friday December 18th, in Waterford’s Christchurch Cathedral, with tickets priced at €15.

    Musicians playing at the show include Ashley Loftus from The Voice, Dermot Doyle and The Trinity Gospel Choir.

    Speaking about the upcoming events, Rebecca said, “We’re hoping to raise a lot of money. People are very willing to give their time when it comes to a charity event.

    “The money raised goes into funding for services all around the country, and then it goes to where it’s most needed.”

    Donations for the charity can be made at any of the organized collections, or simply through their website www.focusireland.ie.

  • Domhnall Gleeson raises money for Dublin hospice

    Domhnall Gleeson raises money for Dublin hospice

    Domhnall Gleeson is set to raise a lot of money for St. Francis Hospice in Raheny, thanks to a campaign running in conjunction with the release of his upcoming Star Wars movie.

    Fans of the film were given an opportunity to win an array of grand prizes if they donated to Star Wars: Force for Change through Omaze.

    The foundation was set up in 2014 by Lucasfilm and Disney, and fifteen members of the cast and crew from the upcoming Star Wars movie each nominated a charity of their choice to receive a percentage of the donations collected.

    Prizes include memorabilia, artwork, as well as the grand prize of being able to attend both the US and UK premieres of the movie, meet the cast and head along to the official after party.

    Speaking to The City, Dee Kinnane of Saint Francis Hospice in Raheny said, “Domhnall has nominated Saint Francis Hospice to be a part of the fifteen charities that are going to benefit from the Star Wars Omaze campaign, and we’re absolutely delighted about it.”

    She revealed that it’s “not very often” such big names get involved with their hospice, but the Gleeson family always show their support whenever they get the opportunity.

    “The Gleesons are very supportive of Saint Francis Hospice. We are delighted that Domhnall has nominated us as part of this campaign. They are brilliant. They are absolutely brilliant,” she said.

    Last year, Domhnall and his brother Brian took part in another fundraising campaign for the hospice, by starring in a charity music video.

    A Dublin band, Squarehead, came up with the song ‘2025’, and the two brothers were happy to lend their support to the video.

    All funds raised from the single went directly to the hospice.

  • One in four teenagers admit to being cyberbullied in Ireland

    One in four teenagers admit to being cyberbullied in Ireland

    The number of Irish youths who have fallen victim to cyberbullying has amounted to one in every four teenagers, a new survey has revealed.

    The study, conducted by YouGov on behalf of Vodafone, has found that the number of Irish teenagers being bullied is higher than any other of the 11 countries surveyed during the research, including the Italy, Spain, UK and America.

    Despite the number being so high, Marie Duffy of Spunout.ie, has said that this is number is not purely down to new advances in technology, but realises that the ease of access online these days certainly doesn’t help the situation.

    “Bullying is not a new thing, as there has always been bullying no matter what kind of technology we have had. The methods of bullying may have changed a bit and it may be harder to escape from, as with new technologies you can be bullied sitting right in your bedroom when before home was often a safe sanctuary away from bullying,” says Duffy.

    In the survey, 45 per cent of teenagers admitted that they felt helpless when it came to cyberbullying, and that 29 per cent of young people felt completely alone. In order to combat this issue, Duffy believes it’s vital that people of all ages are aware of the dangers surrounding cyberbullying, and that young people need to know exactly what to do if they find themselves in that situation.

    “We need to educate our young people, and other adults too around using things like Facebook, Twitter and online forums in a safe way. Once they are aware of the dangers, they are more able to protect themselves,” she said.

    Duffy continued, “I think it’s important that they know how to react if they are the victim of cyber bullying. It’s important to keep the messages, screen shot them or save them. It’s also important not to engage with it as this is often what the bully wants and often it will just prolong the bullying.”

    The importance of telling someone what is happening to you is not to be underestimated, “It’s also important to let a trusted adult know what is going on and that you don’t deal with the cyber bullying on your own.”

    Throughout the survey, one in four of the teenagers who were cyberbullied admitted to having suicidal thoughts. Commenting on this figure, Duffy said, “The important thing if you are having suicidal thoughts is to first tell a trusted adult and make them aware as to how you’re feeling. The next thing is to make an urgent appointment with your GP or go straight to the A+E . It’s important that you have some support through this difficult time and don’t keep it to yourself.”

    Duffy also believes that “parents should have a conversation with their young person and talk about what they are searching and viewing online,” but that “it’s wrong for a parent to have complete control over what young people are looking up online as this would discourage the young person from having an open conversation with their parent if they were being cyber bullied.”

    Cyberbullying is an on-going issue, and while the numbers found throughout the study are high, Ms Duffy believes schools are doing “fantastic work about bullying and really support their young people” whenever they need assistance or come to them with the issue.

    If you or anyone you know is experiencing cyber-bullying head to www.beatthebully.com or call Child Line on 1800 666 666