Donation update: How we helped over Christmas
Hello all!
Thank you for coming to learn about how to help people in direct provision (DP)!
If your new here you may not know that last Christmas we raising money through Patreon & Gofundme to get vouchers and presents to kids and adults in DP.
As promised, I’m posting a breakdown of where the donations went. I will also discuss our plans for the coming months and why your donations will help us have a huge impact on those in DP.
How your donations helped over Christmas
We far exceeded our expectations with the amount of vouchers we were able to deliver. Our goal was to supply at least one centre with vouchers! So as you’ll see below we more than doubled that goal!
Shelbourne FC generously gave us access to their stadium to wrap all the presents which made the experience much more enjoyable! I only wish we didn’t have to wear face masks as I felt it impeded us all getting to know each other better. It was really nice to hear people's stories on why they were moved to help those in DP this Christmas.
In the centres we visited, everyone was extremely grateful for the gifts for the kids and the vouchers. There were many highlights, one for me was a man who burst out in joy and thanked us with tears in his eyes. Being able to provide heat and electricity for a family who just left DP was amazing as well.
I will attach a photo of Naomi organising the presents in one of the centres. Taking photos with people in DP is not appropriate as we are putting them in a position where they may feel they have to accept. I only put pictures up of people who specifically request it themselves :)
We distributed almost 10K worth in presents and vouchers!
Some people signed up for us to give out 50 euro vouchers. I’ve broken down each voucher value into tiers:
€50 One4All voucher
5x vouchers & presents for teens who’ve experience sexual assault
1x voucher & presents to a young mom in DP we regularly help out
4x vouchers & presents to a family just out of direct provision. We also provided electricity, food & gifts
1x to the organiser in the Wexford centre.
1x to the woman who organized the Tipperary drop
€20 One4All voucher
We distributed 150x (€3000 worth) of €20 euro vouchers thanks to the Patreon, Gofundme & Trinity College Dublin's research and innovation team.
These vouchers were distributed to to every adult in a centre in Wexford (60 adults) and a centre in Kildare (50 people) and the remaining in kids presents.
Kids presents
We gave presents to every child in the Wexford (17 kids), Kildare (33 kids), Tipperary (80 kids), Dublin (5 kids) and other (7 kids).
Each kid was gifted colours and a colouring book (art paper and drawing pencils if older), a toy & sweets.
We made sure every present was age appropriate so the toys varied from etch a sketch & trucks, to lush products and cosy clothes.
DP drops
We also managed to do 3 DP drops during this whole experience as well. One hygiene drop to over 80 people in a different centre in Kildare and another winter clothes drop to a centre in Tipperary.
What next for donations?
We will use further money generated through Patreon & Gofundme to keep bringing drops to direct provision centres. Why is it better to give physical donations to centres on the regular than vouchers you ask?
We work with Spotlight Oral Care, Lenovo, Lush, Motorola, GoCar, Nine Crows & Lidl to get products for cheaper than the cost price or for free. This allows us to have a larger impact for centres. For example, right before Christmas we had 10 laptops and 10 smartphones donated with an estimated value of 20k. These partnerships mean that we make your donations stretch way further than if we were to purchase the product itself.
The physical products we bring to centres are requested by each centre. Hygiene products are something everyone needs, by supplying these we are freeing up money in their weekly stipend to spend somewhere else.
So thus us giving donations to centres is similar in a way to giving a voucher as it frees up cash for them… but also we can get them these goods at a cheaper cost price then if they were to buy it themselves. Meaning that we have a much greater impact in direct provision by giving these physical donations than if we continually were supplying vouchers.
That said! One4All want to talk to us this year about doing a partnership next Christmas, where they will match our donations to the value of their One4All vouchers! So that's great news :)
So what drops do we have planned for this year? Our aim is to expand our drops and improve our system of getting goods to new moms in DP. We’ve almost done a full year of drops so now will be able to plan further into the future ensuring we can deliver more of what’s needed to each centre (school supplies, winter clothes, hygiene products, baby products etc.).
We aim to keep raising awareness for direct provision & other causes. I will tell more stories on what I’ve learnt in the centres & stories from people in DP themselves. I would also like to do other things to build our community... So if you’ve any ideas there let me know!
If you wish to donate to us or join our Patreon, each month we will update you there on all the drops achieved. If you ever donated through GoFundme you will be familiar with these updates.
Thank you for helping us fund our DP drops so far! Trust me when I tell you you’ve sent hope and more to people who needed it!
Any questions please do ask. Oh and Happy New Year!
-Louisamay