KBC Bank Ireland announced the winners of their community support initiative, Bright Ideas. KBC’s Bright Ideas programme has returned for a fourth year to support individuals and organisations which are transforming and improving the lives of others in their locality. KBC called on community groups across the country to apply for financial support for their dream projects from a fund of €100,000.
One very worthy cause is a Cork based project ‘Food Cork’ who received €4,760 in funding. The project is fighting food poverty. Every Wednesday they open their doors and serve the community by distributing a food box with a 3- to 4-day supply of nutritious food to families and individuals in need.
Other recipients of the KBC funding include:
- RebelSwim– Receiving €2,500 of funding, Rebel Swim is a group that aims to get communities and people in Cork City of all backgrounds more physically active through swimming
- Leave Only Footprints– Located in Ballybunion, the campaign seeks to create a positive behaviour change, by visitors to the coast to respect the coastal area and leaving only footprints on the sand, after their visit to the seaside. They have been awarded with €1,140 of KBC funding as a part of the Green Ideas Fund which supports eco-friendly community projects
- Shout Out – Based in Midleton, Shout Out is a drama group set up for teenagers with autism which aims to improve their social skills and help them develop friendships. The €1,000 of funding will help promote and grow the programme so it is more accessible for autistic teenagers who often feel isolated.
- Reachout.com – Based in Cork city, Reachout.com received €500 of funding from KBC. They bring together a diverse group of young people from around Cork who are passionate about mental health to become mental health youth leaders for their communities
Aidan Power, Director of Customer, Brand & Marketing at KBC Bank Ireland said: “Bright Ideas has been so successful to date and has seen business and community groups directly benefiting from KBC funding annually. Being able to provide resources to incredible business and community initiatives like Social Feed Cork can only help ensure the future and sustainability of much needed schemes that can sometimes get overlooked.”
In addition to the Community Bright Ideas, this year KBC introduced Business Bright Ideas, a specific fund of a further €100,000 set up to directly assist for-profit organisations who are having a positive impact on a city or community by addressing a particular social need.
One very worthy cause is ‘My Access Hub’, who received €5,000 in funding. The project supports businesses from all sectors to become autism friendly environments.
This years combined community and business bright ideas initiatives has seen €21,000 of funding going to programmes in Cork and Kerry.
To date KBC Bright Ideas has awarded over €450,000 in funding to 180 community projects across Ireland.
This year the initiatives were promoted across seven different geographic regions that correspond with KBC’s hub network: Dublin city (Grand Canal, Baggot Street, College Green, Dundrum, Swords, Stillorgan), Cork (Lapp’s Quay, Wilton), Galway, Limerick, Kilkenny, Waterford and the wider Leinster area (Maynooth, Naas and Greystones).
