2011 Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Award Winners Announced
Oct 18 2011
€200,000 Awarded to Each of Three 2011 Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Winners
CALL FOR CREATION OF VENTURE FUND FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS TO HELP REBUILD ECONOMY
The 2011 Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Award Winners were announced at a reception in Dublin on Wednesday, 19th October where a call went out for the creation of a venture fund for social entrepreneurs to provide greater support for individuals who are developing new, big ideas to address a wide variety of social and environmental challenges.Among the attendance wasguest-of-honour Tom Suddes, fundraising guru and international thought leader in social entrepreneurship; An Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tommy Breen, CEO of DCC plc. DCC is the flagship sponsor of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland’s Awards Ceremony.
Since launching in 2005 Social Entrepreneurs Ireland has supported 150 social entrepreneurs, directly investing over €4M into supporting these exceptional individuals. These in turn have directly helped over 100,000 people and indirectly helped another 400,000 people.
Calling for the creation of a Venture Fund to harness the power of Ireland’s social innovations, Seán Coughlan, Chief Executive of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, said that social entrepreneurs have developed solutions that tackle some of Ireland’s entrenched social problems and at the same time cut costs for the State.
He added, “Social entrepreneurs struggle to find the financing and support required to grow their ideas and reach out to communities across Ireland. If government and philanthropy were to come together to create a new Venture Fund then we could take the best ideas, rapidly scale them and as a result change Ireland. We have seen this type of approach work in the commercial sector, so why not for initiatives that are for public benefit?”.
Three awards were presented, one in the area of education and literacy, one in the area of sustainability and the other to encourage greater participation of women in politics.
Fighting Words is a creative writing centre that is the brainchild of Sean Love, former director of Amnesty Ireland, and writer Roddy Doyle. Staffed mainly by volunteers, it runs free creative writing and storytelling workshops for students of all ages to enhance creative writing skills and build their confidence in writing ability and self-expression. In just over two years, using over 400 volunteers,
the centre has hosted more than 26,000 students of all ages in workshops in fiction writing, film-making, song writing and graphic novels. Three anthologies of short stories have been published and many other film-making, playwriting and other projects have been realised.
Michael Kelly is on a mission to empower people from all walks of life and of all ages to grow their own food successfully. He set up GIY Ireland in 2009, to transform the nation's wellbeing, strengthen communities and protect the environment by helping people to grow their own. There are now approximately 12,000 ‘GIYers’ around the country who are coming together in community groups and online to learn, share and grow.
Determined to tackle the barriers to women participating in our political system, Niamh Gallagher and Michelle O’Donnell Keating set up Women for Election, a non‐partisan organisation whose vision is of an Ireland with balanced participation of women and men in political life. Women make up 52% of Ireland’s population, but they currently make up only 15% of our elected representatives. Increasing the number of women in politics is a long-standing challenge in Ireland, as the Dáil has never been less than 85% male. Women for Election aim to have 40% female candidates by 2021, therefore enriching the diversity of voices in Irish politics.
Another five social entrepreneurs were also recognised for their contribution to changing Ireland, and will be provided with a support package worth €35,000 each over a 12 month period. The winners of this award were Lisa Domican of Grace App; Steven Daly of Camara Ireland; Sheila Gallagher and Melissa Griffith of Green Sod Land Trust; Joan Freeman of Pieta House; and Krystian Fikert of MyMind.
Speaking at the presentation, Tommy Breen, CEO of DCC plc, sponsors of the Awards Ceremony said, “DCC was delighted to sign up for a three year period as the main sponsor of SEI’s award programme. The relationship that has been growing between SEI and DCC, we believe, is a true partnership and one which we are delighted to be part of. In addition to the financial support that DCC has been able to provide, a number of our employees have participated in the selection process and over time, we look forward to assisting some of these innovative and passionate people through the sharing of some of our business experiences. Today’s Award Winners demonstrate what can be achieved when the entrepreneurial spirit is harnessed to deliver positive change - by encouraging and supporting them, both the private and government sectors can help them deliver a better and more sustainable future for all of us.”
Guest of honour Tom Suddes, said social entrepreneurs are critical to developing the new thinking that is going to be required to address some of the entrenched social and environmental issues facing Ireland and the rest of the world today. “These awards are fundamental to driving a new agenda in Ireland, whereby social entrepreneurs can enact real change in society. The ideas and the motivation are there, and the quality of entrepreneurship in this country is second to none. The support given to these business people is one that will resonate outwards and show a real return”.
ENDS
ALL AWARDEES ARE AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW. For further information please contact:
Chris Kelly, FH, 01-6188415 or 086-3096427 chris.kelly@fleishmaneurope.com
Gill Madden, FH, 01-6188414 or 086-2309070 gill.madden@fleishmaneurope.com
About DCC plc and Social Entrepreneurs Ireland
DCC, a sales, marketing, distribution and business support services group headquartered in Dublin, is the flagship sponsor of the Social Entrepreneurs Ireland selection process and awards ceremony. One of Ireland’s largest public companies, with sales of €8.7 billion and in excess of 8,000 employees, DCC has worked closely with Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, not only providing significant financial support but also facilitating employee involvement in all stages of the selection process. This has been of tremendous benefit both to the selection process itself and to the company, whose employees have participated enthusiastically and effectively
