Cavan charities benefit from €2K funding from AIB Bank

AIB branches in Cavan have come together to support local charities and help provide direct funds to local community efforts.

A total of €200,000 has been made available to branches across the county (€1,000 per branch) as part of AIB Together, the bank’s community investment programme.

The Cavan charities to receive support from this fund are: Cavan/Monaghan Palliative Care and SOSAD Cavan, the suicide prevention and awareness charity.

Speaking about the donations, Paddy Whyte, head of AIB North East said: “Covid-19 has presented many challenges and impacted every part of our society. We are all acutely aware of the impact on most charities fundraising efforts as they had to postpone many arranged events which left a big gap in their financial ability to continue the fantastic work they do.

"We in AIB North East - covering Cavan, Monaghan, Louth, Meath Westmeath and Longford - through the AIB Together Programme are delighted to have given support totalling €14,000 to 38 charities within our communities. We are delighted to have been part of this community effort.”

Separately, AIB has also launched a fundraising initiative to further support communities impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. As part of the AIB Together programme, partnering with AIB’s long-standing Community partners FoodCloud and Soar, in addition to Alone & Pieta House, staff can fundraise or donate directly into a dedicated AIB Together Fund. AIB will then match the fund for final disbursement to the chosen charity.

AIB has set itself a target of raising €1million from colleagues, which will be matched by €1million from the business – creating an overall target of €2M for communities most in need right now. Over €337,000 has been raised so far, including the matched funding.

The bank has also recently made a donation of €2.4million to help with the research for a Coronavirus vaccine in conjunction with Trinity College Dublin, as well as entering a partnership with Trinity to ensure that 450 laptop devices were delivered to second level students who were unable to attend school due to the pandemic. The Tech2Students initiative was begun by Trinity’s Access Programme in association with the charity Camara Education Ireland.

Founded in 2018, AIB Together provides a platform for staff to support charities and causes across Ireland. Each AIB employee is entitled to two volunteering days per year to support their chosen cause as part of the programme and can volunteer or fundraise for a charity of their choice or one of our core community partners.