Projects and organisations we work with
From grassroots projects to local organisations, homework clubs and national charities: all the programmes we support are proven and evidence-based and have been carefully chosen on their ability to deliver real change where it’s needed, in innovative and exciting ways.
We are continuously bowled over by the creativity and leadership within the youth sector. The frontline staff and infrastructure are already in place and ready to be mobilised. If armed with additional support and resources, they can turn things around for a generation.
We support projects across our three main pillars. See examples of some of those below:
Solas Project
based in Dublin incorporates a mixture of targeted interventions and community-wide activities, with a focus on children and young people at risk of being marginalised by society, specifically through the education, employment and justice systems.
The funding helps us continue our work in DEIS schools in Dublin where students represent less than 4% of third level entrants. We are excited to continue to engage with young people around their educational experience and see them successfully manage the challenges of transitioning from primary to secondary school.
Just Ask
works to transform the community through education and support for inner-city children and runs daily after-school clubs which provide homework support, hot meals, wellbeing support for junior and secondary school children and young people, and an evening youth club.
This fund allows Just Ask to run its StepUp programme which has a track record of young people successfully completing their schooling, which for an inner-city youth often means avoiding the lure of drugs and crime.
is a Limerick charity that supports motivated students and parents from disadvantaged areas and communities to progress through all the levels of the education system.
Life Centre Cork
is an alternative centre of education that works with 12 to 18 years old no longer in mainstream education. The centre works with young people 1-to-1 and in small groups to prepare them for their Junior and Leaving Certs, while also focussing on personal and social development.
The School Completion Programme
in Dublin 1 & 7 works with schools, local youth agencies, parents and young people towards identifying and addressing barriers to education. They provide various tailored interventions to children targeted as at risk of early school leaving, including 1-to-1 support, family support and small group work.
With many young people, getting up and going to school every day is an amazing achievement that deserves congratulations and celebration! Anything positive beyond that could be considered a bonus. Within the busy school environment, we can all lose sight of this. The embedding of this programme in schools is an attempt to maintain focus upon empathetic communication and positive relationships. It is another step towards creating an environment where the little things aren’t overlooked. I can’t think of anything more important!
The Building a Bridge Progamme
is run by Youth Work Ireland Cavan Monaghan and focusses on young people making the transition from primary to secondary school. It works to identify as soon as possible early school leavers or those who have additional needs which may pose an issue in terms of making this transition.
Love and Care for People “LCP”
is a Cork-based charity that educates young people (aged 9 to 19) facing financial difficulties, special needs, mental health difficulties, as well as refugees and those living in isolated and disadvantaged rural areas, about family violence, social exclusion, mental health, neglect, and hardship with a purpose to reduce and prevent it.
Big thanks for making this youth-designed project’s vision a reality. The Irish Youth Foundation grant helps the overall success of the project.
Southill Hub
supports the community to be a great place to ‘grow up and grow old’ and works with young people, their families and the wider community to provide a safe, welcoming space for the community to play, meet and eat.
The Generation Pandemic recovery fund is an acknowledgement that this generation faces a challenge like never before. We are most appreciative to the Irish Youth Foundation for this funding which allows us to support young people to face the challenge head-on.
A Lust for Life
is a multi-award-winning wellbeing movement that uses content, campaigns and events to help young people effectively manage their mental health and wellbeing.
The fund allows us to expand the Schools Programme across Ireland, reaching thousands of primary school pupils, teachers and families, while also facilitating the development of new innovative and relevant child informed content.
Helplink Mental Health
The Roscommon Young Carers
The funding means we can run a six-month programme of supports called ‘The Art of Caring’ where we teach young people practical skills through the medium of art, and equip young carers with the tools for better mental health self-support.
MyMind
provides face to face and online counselling and psychotherapy services for mental health issues for adults, children, young people, couples and families. They have a team of over 100 mental health professionals who provide services in 15 languages using a variety of therapeutic methods.
Waterford and South Tipperary Community Youth Service
work in collaboration with young people and local communities to achieve improvements in a young person’s quality of life, and support thousands of young people in the south east of Ireland.
The Irish Youth Foundation’s Generation Pandemic Fund makes a real difference in the lives of young people in Waterford who have been facing significant employment challenges. Young people develop self-confidence and self-esteem, and form new supportive friendships and relationships that help them to unlock their potential.
Doras Buí
is a community resource centre and early years’ service which works with young parents and helps them to make informed decisions about their education and employment opportunities. This enables them to practice positive life experiences while often living in difficult circumstances.
The young people and their children that we work with, experience trauma daily from their environment. The funding helps us to meet their needs, and to educate them in mental health awareness and sexual health decisions.
Fighting Words
provide free tutoring, mentoring and publishing across all forms of creative writing. Set up by Roddy Doyle and Sean Love, they encourage young people to use the creative practice of writing and storytelling to be resilient, creative and successful.
The fund allows us to invest far greater resources into reaching thousands more children and young people suffering disadvantage in this way. Fighting Words is helping them find their rhythm, their stories, their words.
Safe Haven
As we are entirely volunteer run, all funds go directly towards funding places for young people to take part. The funding enables us to increase our capacity and send more young people sailing.
Obair
is a community development organisation in Co. Clare that works with people to combat social exclusion as well as to develop social enterprise in the area.
This fund allows us to engage with many disadvantaged young people in our area and get them on the track towards meaningful employment in the food production and hospitality industry. This fund creates opportunities for young people who might not have otherwise got a chance to upskill and gain work experience in the sector.
Teen-Turn
addresses the lack of third level qualifications, particularly those related to STEM, attained by women from disadvantaged and underrepresented communities, by providing young people with hands-on experiences, mentors and long-term support.
The award contributes to the costs of our online programming, ensuring that we can deliver meaningful virtual instruction and support to nearly 1,000 participants nationwide in an environment that complies with child welfare best practice.
Core Youth Services Bike Project
provides opportunities for young people living in severe disadvantage to reach their full potential, through a range of non-formal activities and programmes designed to meet their complex needs.
This fund will enable us to deliver a promising work employment preparation programme for young people who we have supported through many challenges in their formal education and their lives.
Bedford Row Family Project
is a Limerick-based project that supports families of prisoners. They Work with all generations to break the cycle of involvement in crime and subsequent imprisonment.
The Irish Youth Foundation will help us to provide a new sense of purpose for young travellers who traditionally do not complete second level education. There are a disproportionate number of young male and female travellers in Limerick city area who are in receipt of disability allowance and job seekers allowance. Through relationships that have been developed, it is clear that young travellers would relish the opportunity to take up jobs in mainstream society that could lead to further opportunities.
Traveller Support Worker
Ossory Youth
in Kilkenny assists in a long-term response to unemployment by providing education, work placements & building resilience amongst a vulnerable group of people.
Through this funding, we can make an essential contribution to supporting young people to enter the labour market and beyond. Offering opportunities, valuing and further developing skills and competences and facilitating the creation of an inclusive workplace.
How you can help
Our aim is to reach 45,000 children and young people who are living in disadvantaged circumstances across Ireland.
To do this, we need to support a wide range of youth projects as well those incredible youth workers who work tirelessly, and often voluntarily, to ensure children and young people have a future to look forward to.
But we can’t do it without you.
Whether you are a business or an individual you can help.
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How you can help
Our aim is to reach 45,000 children and young people who are living in disadvantaged circumstances across Ireland.
To do this, we need to support a wide range of youth projects as well those incredible youth workers who work tirelessly, and often voluntarily, to ensure children and young people have a future to look forward to.
But we can’t do it without you.
Whether you are a business or an individual you can help.