The Care Trust

Our home page features our October 2023 prize-car winner, Anne Peacock (left) of Abbeyleix who is congratulated by Caroline Downes, The Care Trust National Fundraising Manager on winning a fabulous Toyota Yaris Hybrid car.

The Irish Red Cross (IRC) established a project to facilitate the provision of disability and Psychological First Aid (PFA) support for Ukraine refugees arriving in Ireland as a result of the ongoing conflict. The intention of this initiative is to build on the existing IRC programme of PFA with an aim to assist those suffering from mental stress due to the extreme trauma of their experiences. Additionally, the IRC has committed to the provision of assistive devices and support for Ukrainians arriving in Ireland who are living with disabilities.

The Care Trust provided a grant of €50,000 to the IRC to support the PFA programme and their allocation of assistive devices, such as wheelchairs, to Ukraine refugees.

Healing Untold Grief Groups is a peer support organisation. HUGG provides a safe, non-judgemental and confidential environment in which those bereaved by suicide can share their experiences and feelings, while giving and gaining support to and from each other. The aftermath of a suicide is shocking, debilitating, surreal, and forever life-changing. It is not easy to learn to live with this loss, but HUGG is available to help. The Care Trust believes that minding each other is an important value and is pleased to support HUGG and its vital work.

Future plans

The Care Trust has made a grant of €45,000 to enable HUGG to progress its Peer Group Support programme in 2023.  Objectives include increasing the number of people attending peer-group meetings throughout the country. This financial support will also help to increase the number of people accessing information on suicide bereavement and will allow for an uplift in telephone support to suicide-bereaved individuals. An additional grant of €2,083 was provided to support HUGG’s National Suicide Bereavement Remembrance Evening in November 2023.

A Lust for Life is a multi-award-winning movement that uses content, campaigns and events to facilitate young people to be effective guardians of their own minds – and to be the leaders who drive our society towards a better future.

1st & 2nd Class Schools Programme supported by grants received from The Care Trust

The Care Trust initial grant of €65,000 helped ALFL to develop, during 2022, its primary school wellbeing and resilience mental health Schools Programme for children in 1st and 2nd classes. A Lust for Life Schools Programme has now been extended to 893 primary schools in 2,222 classrooms, reaching 51,110 pupils in 1st to 6th classes around the country. The programme undergoes ongoing evaluation both in-house and in partnership with the School of Psychology in University College Dublin.