€70,000 Energia Get Ireland Growing Fund Now Open For Applications From Laois
GIY in partnership with Energia announce ‘Energia Get Ireland Growing’ a €70,000 pool of funding available to community and voluntary organisations who can apply for grants until January 20th 2017 , which will enable them to start or further develop a community food-growing project in their area.
The Energia Get Ireland Growing Fund will be split across three categories, ‘Sow’, ‘Grow’ and ‘Harvest’ with awards ranging from €500 to €2,000. Together GIY and Energia will support at least 85 community food growing groups from all across the country.
Pictured is Kieran Loughran CEO of Headway, Amy O’Shaughnessy, Acquisition Marketing Manager at Energia, and Michael Kelly Founder of GIY at the launch of the ‘Energia Get Ireland Growing’ fund. GIY and Energia have teamed up to offer a €70,000 pool of funding to community and voluntary organisations who can, from today until January 20th 2017 apply for grants, which will enable them to start or further develop a community food-growing project in their area. Applications are being accepted via www.giyinternational.org/energia-get-ireland-growing.html.
Launching the initiative, the founder of GIY Michael Kelly said, “Energia Get Ireland Growing’ rewards and celebrates the community champions who are putting food back at the heart of their communities. These types of projects usually struggle to find funding and supports and we are delighted to partner with Energia on this shared vision to back incredible food growing initiatives with the 2017 fund.”
In addition to the funding provided, GIY also provides additional supports and opportunities for knowledge exchange between the projects, helping the best ideas to be shared through ‘Energia Get Ireland Growing’. All of the projects remain part of the GIY network in the long term, giving them access to other GIY resources and additional groups and projects within the network, creating a long-term legacy.
Energia have joined forces with GIY to back the 2017 fund to help deserving community groups to progress their visionary projects next year. Commenting at the launch, “Geoff Codd, Head of Marketing at Energia said, “Sustainability is central to everything Energia does. That’s why we’ve invested €300m in new wind farms since 2008 and we’re the only energy supplier to provide 100% ‘green’ energy to Irish homes for the last three years in a row. So, we’re delighted to support smart and sustainable living through Energia Get Ireland Growing. Growing your own fruit and veg and living healthily and sustainably are clearly clever choices”
The funding pool is now open to any community group, school, NGO or Not for Profit, community garden or allotment group, GIY group, hospital, crèche, direct provision centre, men’s shed or any group who grows their own food, or wants to grow food and wants to promote growing food. The deadline for applications is the end of January 2017 and applications can be made online via www.giyinternational.org/e
GIY’s ‘Get Ireland Growing’ initiative has supported over 400 community food growing projects to date, positively impacting over 100,000 people. €270,000 has been awarded over the last four years and this was distributed to projects all across the country. Some of these flagship projects include, a food growing initiative in a young persons probation centre in Cork; the installation of food gardens at Focus Ireland and Galway Simon; an edible quayside project in Co Wexford, which has seen tomatoes flourishing on the railings at the New Ross quayside, a vegetable garden for asylum seekers in Clonakilty, Co Cork, a horticultural project for unemployed men in Waterford that supplies salads to restaurants and a community garden to reduce isolation on Inishbofin island to name but a few.
For further details and to submit an application for ‘Get Ireland Growing’ 2017 see www.giyinternational.org/e
#GetIrelandGrowing
Headway the home of the launch of ‘Energia Get Ireland Growing’….
The launch of ‘Energia Get Ireland Growing’ took place at ‘Headway’, the charity that positively changes the lives of those with brain injury. The ‘Headway’ facility in Cork previously received funding from GIY’s ‘Get Ireland Growing’ initiative and to kick start the launch of the 2017 pool of funding, Energia and GIY will donate a €1,000 garden to Headway in Dublin to mirror the fantastic use they get from their garden for therapy use at their Cork facility.
According to Headway, “Up to 15 clients a week worked on building this garden and it became a real labour of love. They spent the year learning about herbs, their various uses and benefits, and also growing vegetables that clients could take home to cook with. Once a week they came together and spoke about nutrition, using the fruits of the garden to educate about healthy eating. The garden has since expanded and taken off, growing far beyond the initial small scope. Many of our Cork clients have reported taking their new skills home with them, growing their own vegetables and herbs for personal use. They also tell us that this is one of their favourite activities while at Headway, and they take great solace from growing and tending the garden, and great pride in showing it off to anyone who visits.”
“We have wanted to replicate this in Dublin but never could. Now thanks to your support we can.” Sarah Benson, Headway.
