Our CSR Programme - CluneTech Cares, is a fantastic representation of what we are - a team of truly caring individuals giving our best to support and add value, not only to our customers, but also to the communities in which we operate. CluneTech Cares is employee-led and has three key pillars: Wellness, Culture & Community, and Sustainability. It has been a busy quarter so make sure to check out some of our latest activities below.
FAST Heroes is an award-winning educational initiative supported by the World Stroke Organization that aims to raise awareness of stroke symptoms and the need for speedy action. It leverages children’s amazing enthusiasm for learning and sharing, encouraging the spread of knowledge to the rest of their family, particularly to their grandparents. The campaign offers educational resources to inspire learning in Kindergartens and Primary schools, to facilitate the transfer of that knowledge to families at home.
2022 is the first year CluneTech has taken part in this project by donating over €2,000 which will allow the program’s ambassadors to roll out the FAST Heroes educational campaign for the first time in Varna, Bulgaria.
On World Stroke Day on October 29th FAST Heroes presented to our teams. The presentation further increased awareness and CluneTech employees were also given the opportunity to nominate a school of their choice who would be enrolled in the program. Following a public vote, the “Geo Milev” School, nominated by Iliyana Stefanova from the Irish Accounts Team in Bulgaria, was selected to be the first school in Varna that will take part in the FAST Heroes 112 campaign.
CluneTech recently made a donation to help support the Blacks and Whites GAA club from Skeoughvosteen who successfully won the Kilkenny Junior Hurling Championship (1-17 to 0-17) against Windgap in UPMC Nowlan Park on Sunday, 23rd October. This was a huge achievement for the rural club and we were extremely proud to have had the opportunity to support them in their victory. Well done to all involved on this amazing win, from everyone here at CluneTech!
A special mention for CluneTech employee Emma Doyle’s nephew, Seanán Doyle who was part of the winning lineup. Some of our team will remember Seanán from his transition year work experience a few years back.
We were absolutely delighted to present Temple Street hospital with a donation towards their Speech and Language Department in November. Having a sick baby is understandably very stressful for families and parents don’t always get the opportunity to have a ‘normal’ parenting experience when their baby is sick. Because of this, Temple Street introduced some time on the ward for a daily ‘Baby Readathon’ where parents are encouraged to read to their baby and have some quality time together, aside from when their child is being treated.
CluneTech’s donation was dedicated towards the purchase of some much needed books for babies in Temple Street’s neonatal wards that will last 3-6 years, for babies diagnosed with Trachea-oesophageal fistula (TOF) and Oesophageal Atresia (OA).
We were so honoured to support such an amazing cause and to highlight the wonderful work Children's Health Foundation and Temple Street do so well.
Giving Tuesday is a day that encourages people to give back in whatever ways they can. For this year's Giving Tuesday, we were honored to support three amazing charities who work incredibly hard to make a positive difference within their communities and beyond. We were delighted to have the opportunity to make a donation to each of these causes to mark this global generosity movement.
Take a look at our three charities below that we chose to celebrate our #GivingTuesday with this year:
Coalition for the Homeless - Through CluneTech Cares, we were honored to make a donation to Coalition for the Homeless in New York City. Enda Kelleher, VP of Sprintax, volunteers in their soup kitchen every week and brings the amazing work that they do to our attention. The Coalition’s Grand Central Food Program (GCFP) was founded in 1985, the day after a homeless woman died of starvation in Grand Central Terminal. Since then, the program has grown to become the largest mobile soup kitchen in America. Each night, their vans deliver between 800 and 1,200 healthy meals of hot stew, bread, fresh fruit, and juice or milk — as well as coats, hats, gloves and blankets in the colder weather — to those struggling to survive rough on the streets at 25 stops around the city.
One To World - Established in 1977, One To World was founded by a group of foreign student advisers committed to building bridges between international students on campus and the broader New York community. This work quickly grew into a set of programs aimed at creating strong international relationships through intercultural awareness and understanding by creating multiple opportunities where people can come together face-to-face and share their perspectives, experiences, and lives.
Cultural Vistas - Founded in 1963, Cultural Vistas has grown into the leading exchange organization of its kind. The organization focuses on providing professional experience – now helping more than 6,000 students, professionals, and emerging world leaders to make the world a better, more peaceful, and collaborative place each year.
Introduced in 2021, our CSR Volunteer Day empowers each employee to give back to the charities and causes closest to them. Since the inception of Volunteer Day 58 CluneTech employees have contributed to causes which they find meaningful, and this number keeps growing. See what some of them shared with us about their experience:
The United Nations Volunteers Programme (UNV) coordinates International Volunteer Day on the 5th of December every year. We wanted to give thanks to our team for standing by others and supporting causes they truly care about. This work makes an incredible difference and creates a better future for everyone involved.
In recognition and appreciation of the tireless work of our CluneTech volunteers, we created this short interview with our colleagues who agreed to be involved and asked them to tell us about their volunteering stories and experiences.
“I used my volunteer day yesterday and took part in the workshops that the association 'За Теб' ('For You') is organizing. Every week young people in disadvantaged situations are gathering for creative activities. They welcomed me open-heartedly in their community and we spent the time coloring and decorating cones, making hearts and apples out of wool and chatting about whatever comes to mind. I really appreciate having this opportunity and I would love to join them again next year!!”
Svetla Arsova, Business Intelligence & DA Specialist, Immedis
This October, our very own Georgi Stanchev and Rumyana Hristova brought 43 kg of plastic caps for the initiative ‘I believe and help’ in Varna, Bulgaria. Not only are the plastic caps going to be recycled, but the money collected from the initiative will be used for buying vital medical equipment and ambulances for children.
“I believe and help” is a well-known Bulgarian initiative which is run biannually - once in the spring, and once in the autumn. It promotes plastic caps collection and recycling as a way to gather funds for buying vital medical equipment for children’s hospitals while also supporting the planet and recycling tons of plastic each year. Well Done Georgi and Rumyana!
During October, local volunteers gathered together for a DIY SOS project in aid of the Saplings School in Goresbridge, for some much-needed improvements.
Saplings helps to support parents and their children with disabilities, giving them a space that is safe and compassionate to their needs; however, their biggest problem was that the spaces they had weren't fit for purpose.
Our volunteers Ian Hayes, Brendan Coughlan, Emma Doyle and Gareth McLoughlin gave their time to help with five projects that were undertaken on the day.
Together, they tackled Sapling’s outdoor classroom and their sensory area, which was previously just a parking lot and outdoor storage area respectively. Both of which were totally unsuitable for the children and their care.
Take a look at what Brendan Coughlan, Head of Process Re-engineering at TransferMate had to say about their volunteer day with Saplings:
“A big thank you to CluneTech for the CSR Day that enabled us to give back to our local community. We believe we made a big difference in the lives of the children and their caretakers, who can now let the kids explore and use all the space available to them.
The funds for the whole project were raised by local Paulstown resident, Julia Purcell by getting a team to cycle the Paris to Nice Charity ride for donations, read more here: https://sportforbusiness.com/sigmar-take-to-saddle-for-saplings/”
Well done to Ian Hayes for his work with Saplings and bringing this amazing initiative to all of our attention. Thank you also to Brendan, Emma and Gareth for putting their volunteer day to great use and for the incredible difference they have all made towards these children's lives.
In Q4, Mark Hender from Immedis went on a mission to save the Clogh village in north Kilkenny from becoming another statistic of derelict villages in Ireland.
To support the last remaining pub in the village and to help raise funds and restore the large Christmas tree in the center of the village, Mark organized a pub quiz and raffle. As part of #CluneTechCares, we matched all donations raised by our employees and covered 10 euro cost for employees participating in the quiz.
“Myself and few other members of Clogh Village in north Kilkenny are determined to help Clogh become an active community once again and not be another statistic of derelict villages of Ireland. A precursor to this was the community pulling together to save the last remaining pub which has only thrived under new community ownership and we believe we can do even more as a community by providing more amenities and celebrations in the coming years.
We are onto the next ventures of making Clogh a real place to visit, which is to restore a Christmas theme around the village. We have big ideas but because we are very low on time (and even lower on money), we are aiming to achieve phase 1 of the Christmas project this year which is to restore a large Christmas tree in the center of the village and decorated with lights and remembrance slips of paper of people we would like to remember.”, Mark shared about his project.
Following the incredibly successful event, Mark thanked everyone for their support:
“I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who donated and partook in the fundraiser for my village which I posted. It was an incredibly successful night which will bring some extra Christmas cheer this year. A big thank you to Aislinn Brennan and CluneTech Cares for firstly allowing me advertise but then to also match donations <3. It's amazing to be surrounded by such considerate people!!”
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