Last call for retailers to support youth homelessness this May Bank Holiday

Brent Pope is supporting the One for Ireland Campaign at his local Starbucks by giving €1 to homeless youth at the till on the May Bank Holiday weekend

“The key to the success of this campaign is retailer involvement,” says Niall McLoughlin, CEO, Irish Youth Foundation

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Calling  all retailers, hotels and restaurants! One for Ireland is back and will take place this May Bank Holiday weekend (4 – 7 May). The charitable movement, backed by the Irish Youth Foundation, is calling on retailers to get involved in order to raise much needed funds for the 3,755 children without a home in Ireland.

The initiative will see retailers nationwide ask customers to add ‘€1 to their bill when they pay at the till’ for youth homelessness. Currently, 800 retailers have signed up including the BWG Group, Applegreen, Starbucks and the Irish Pharmacy Union and more are urgently needed to take part in order to raise much needed funds. The mechanic is simple – retailers will be provided with plastic barcode tags which can be inputted into the store’s EPOS system to the value of €1. Staff members can then ask customers if they want to participate when they make a purchase.

With just one week to go until kick-off, Niall McLoughlin, CEO, Irish Youth Foundation stressed the importance of bringing more retailers on board. “The key to the success of this campaign is retailer involvement,” he said. “It is crucial that we get as many on-board as possible in order to generate as much as we can for homeless youth – a cause that has gone beyond a crisis point.”

All funds donated in each area will be used to improve the lives of homeless children and young people living in seven regions throughout Ireland. The seven charity beneficiaries include Focus Ireland, The Simon Community, Irish Refugee Council, Sonas Domestic Violence Charity, Barnardos, Novas and Merchant’s Quay Ireland.

At the end of December 2017 there were 818 young people (18 – 24 year-olds) living in emergency homeless accommodation, according to figures released by the Department of Housing. By the end of February 2018 this figure had increased to 938 young people living in emergency accommodation in Ireland. This represents a 14% increase in just two months.

If you are a retailer and want to sign up visit www.oneforireland.ie/retailers or contact Sarah Edmonds in the Irish Youth Foundation at sarah@iyf.ie or call +353 87 7622946.

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