Last year the Society of St. Vincent dePaul spent €150,000 in the parishes of Mallow, Ballyclough and Killavullen alone. €68,000 went on fuel, €58,000 on food and €22,000 on education. Comparing last year with this year, the Mallow branch of SVP is dealing with almost a 100% increase in families needing help this Christmas.

With an added Household Charge of a €100 now due before the 31^st of March 2012 for anyone who owns their own home, and families already struggling to keep the roof over their heads, it looks to be another year of Ireland’s heroic public supporting each other through valuable organisations like the SVP.

NCBA Donates over €4,000 in donations, fundraising and toys to SVP in 2011

Accepting donations from the NCBA: Paddy Lane, Mallow SVP, Eamon Holly, Charleville SVP, Peggy O’Connell, Kanturk SVP (missing from the picture due to bad weather on the morning Sheila Sherlock).

The North Cork Business Alliance makes an annual donation to the St. Vincent DePaul every Christmas, alternating the branches they support each year. This year, in response to the increase in need and especially due to the increase in numbers of self-employed people who have closed their doors and found themselves needing support, the NCBA has increased their efforts.

At the NCBA’s last meeting of the year, two donations of €1,000 were presented to the Millstreet and Mallow branches respectively, Secret Santa presents worth over €1,000 were presented to the Kanturk and Charleville branches, and several NCBA members were heavily involved in volunteer bag packing in Mallow that raised €1,225. In total, more than €4,200 was raised for branches of the SVP in North Cork.

“As current Chair of the NCBA, I’m proud to call myself a member of an organisation whose members support each other and the community they live in. The NCBA is not just another business networking group. We aim to grow our businesses, and ourselves, by exchanging quality referrals, leads, and contacts, by learning from each other and from external experts, and by supporting each other, listening and sharing insights gained through similar experiences.” Claire O’Neill, NCBA Chair and Personal and Business Coach.

Tags: local people in need, NCBA, SVP