Late Late Toy Show funds of €123,000 for two Meath children's services

Local children will also benefit from a range of national grants

Two Meath organisations - Meath Springboard Family Support Services and Meath Women's Refuge and Support Services are among those to benefit from as a result of grants from the RTÉ Toy Show Appeal which have been announced by the broadcaster and The Community Foundation for Ireland today.

The RTÉ Toy Show Appeal raised a staggering €6.6 million in donations from television viewers of Toy Show night in December. Half of that money was shared out between three key charities - Barnardos Ireland, Children's Health Foundation Ireland and Children's Books Ireland.

The remaining monies from the fund were made available for children’s charities in an open call for grants managed by The Community Foundation for Ireland.

Receiving €68,000, Meath Springboard Family Support Services will provide a timely, affordable and accessible counselling support service to children with mild to moderate mental health issues (MHI), aimed specifically at children from under privileged backgrounds who would normally be unable to avail of counselling due to cost. Meath Springboard Family Support Services will ensure that the children who suffered food and educational poverty during Covid 19 are supported to psychologically recover from Covid-19 and return to as full and positive a childhood experience as possible. (€68,000)

Meath Women's Refuge and Support Services, receiving some €54,900, aims to create a welcoming and safe space for children coming into refuge so that they have the opportunity to engage with creative and cultural activities that look to enhance their personal development. Play and creativity will be the main medium and methodology of engagement as research shows for children under-12 non-verbal play is the main means of communication for children.

Meath children will also benefit from a range of national grants. A new National Dyslexia Learning Hub is being developed, a Deafblind literacy programme is being pioneered, The Irish Wheelchair Association will be promoting creativity for children while the health and well-being group Soar is starting a five year mission to ensure supports are offered to every transition year student.

Vulnerable children in Meath and across Ireland will be supported by initiatives including the development of a Traveller Mental Health Service, My Life Now will ensure children caring for a loved one are supported to develop and continue in education while SafeIreland will develop supports for children in violent homes.

Ryan Tubridy, Late Late Show host, said: “It’s time to show the people of Ireland just where the money they dug deep for last November is going, and it’s going directly to children all over the island of Ireland who are going to have better, happier, safer and more creative, enriched and nourished lives because of these donations. Thank you once again to the viewers of The Late Late Show for your continued overwhelming generosity. The RTÉ Toy Show Appeal will be back again this year to help Change Children’s Lives for Good."

Saoirse Ruane, the Galway girl whose story inspired the establishment of the RTÉ Toy Show Appeal, added: “I'm delighted my story inspired Ryan and The Late Late Show to launch the very first Toy Show Appeal last November. I am so happy the money will go to help such wonderful charities. Since the show I have been busy, learning to cycle my bike again, returning to school and I have just gone back to play camogie.”

In total, over 675,000 children and family members across Ireland will directly and immediately benefit from the overall RTÉ Toy Show Appeal proceeds, with thousands more set to benefit through the investment in essential resources, both medical and otherwise, for years to come.

Dee Forbes, Director-General RTÉ, said: “It is truly fulfilling to reach this stage in the process, where the funds so generously donated by the public as part of the RTÉ Toy Show Appeal are being distributed to so many worthy projects to support children and their families throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland. I am proud that an idea we created just months ago, that was built on the back of the generous spirit which underpins the Late Late Toy Show, has been such a force for good".

Denise Charlton, Chief Executive of The Community Foundation for Ireland added: “The generosity of viewers has been overwhelming and is now being turned into action on the ground in communities where it will make a huge difference for children and their families. The positive impact we will see on so many young lives in the coming weeks and months should act as an inspiration to us all. It is also a sad reality that in the current challenging times, demand from groups for this grant round has outstripped the support which was available. As a Community Foundation, we are keenly aware of that shortfall, and we remain absolutely committed to working with partners in an effort to address that challenge.”