Organisations in Galway have taken part in the launch of We Act – a new national campaign aimed at building on the upswell of community activity during COVID to help drive the post-pandemic recovery.
Galway-based Ability West and Meals4Health both feature in a promotional video released this week to coincide with the launch of We Act.
Charities and community groups across the county are being encouraged to join the national campaign.
Ability West is based in Salthill and has provided services and supports to children and adults with intellectual disabilities and comorbidities for almost 60 years.
The organisation has 62 centres located across Galway city and county, and is patron of four special schools in Ballinasloe, Carraroe, Galway city and Tuam.
Meals4Health supports older people to live independently in their homes by providing them with fresh meals, designed to meet the particular dietary needs of individuals. The organisation is based on the Tuam Road in Galway city.
The campaign aims to promote the value and impact of Ireland’s charity and community sector. There are 34,000 organisations in the sector, employing almost 165,000 people and with a further 1 million volunteers.
Commenting on the launch of We Act, the campaign’s manager, Sarah Monaghan, said that the COVID-19 crisis brought a renewed public focus on the work of their sector.
“From support lines for older people to laptops for children in emergency accommodation, when we saw a need in our communities – in Galway and right across the country – we responded to it,” said Sarah.
“The pandemic demonstrated that, in times of real need, charities and community groups are at the forefront of our national response.
“We saw a shift in values towards equality, justice and supports for the most vulnerable in our communities and across the globe.
“Now, there needs to be a concentrated effort to ensure the innovation, goodwill and community cohesion continues as we recover from the pandemic.”
