I got a call a few days ago from Denis O’Reilly, whom I know from his fantastic ‘Difference Days’ initiative which gives companies an opportunity to give something back to the community by donating time to various good causes.
Denis had come up with another great idea. Through his long association with the DEIS school community, he and his wife Angela realised that all around Dublin, there are thousands of school children missing out on meals because of the Covid-19 crisis.
Thanks to DEIS, thousands of disadvantaged kids in Dublin normally get their breakfast and lunch at school but with all those schools now closed, many families are simply not able to put enough food on the table. To think of kids missing out on vital nutrition at a time when their bodies and brains need it most is just tragic.
To help alleviate this tough situation, Denis has launched ‘Good Grub’, a not-for-profit that aims to deliver some 25,000 nutritious fruit and vegetable parcels to the families of disadvantaged DEIS schoolkids in the Dublin area during the crisis.
The story was carried today by Independent and Irish Examiner.
Good Grub has set a target of €100,000 to deliver fresh food to these children for as long as the crisis continues. It’s a big ask, but they have help and support in the shape of partners including the Aisling Project and Glanmore Foods as well as many volunteers.
Now they need your help!
If you can afford to donate anything to Good Grub, it will make a huge difference. To give you an idea of how you’ll be helping:
- A donation of €10 will provide 2 families with a week’s worth of fresh fruit and veg
- A donation of €40 will provide 2 families with a month’s worth of fresh fruit and veg
- A donation of €120 will provide 6 families with a month’s worth of fresh fruit and veg
You can donate via the Good Grub website or directly via their GoFundMe campaign and every single cent raised will go directly towards providing fruit and vegetable parcels for the DEIS families involved.
Anything you can afford to donate will be gratefully received.
We’re delighted to be supporting Good Grub on the PR front, so if you can share this message around and help us spread the word, that would be great too.
Let’s help them reach their goal!
Well done to Denis, Angela, Billy and the rest of the O’Reilly family and everyone else involved in this cause.
P.S. Denis also runs the excellent Wild Wicklow Tours, which we’ve done and enjoyed many times – when all this is over, it’s well worth the trip!
UPDATE 16/04/20: I’m delighted to announce that Good Grub has already passed its initial fund-raising target of €100,000 so thanks to everyone for their generosity. This great cause has clearly struck a chord with many people, and we have now set our sights even higher with a new target of €250,000 to continue delivering fresh food to families in need throughout Covid-19. Please dig deep!