Bon Secours Health System, through its five Hospitals and Care Village, is a significant supporter of charitable causes nationally. We invest annually, through our Community Initiative Programme, in worthwhile projects that can add value to the lives of the most vulnerable in society, and that can bring about a social good.
As a Healthcare organisation with a Catholic Ethos, the projects we support are reflective of our Ethos, Mission, Vision and Values.
While our care within the Bon Secours Health System is summed up by our brand line ‘advanced medicine, exceptional care’, our ‘care’ goes beyond the walls of our hospitals through our Community Initiative Funding. The Projects we support are a key way in which we translate our Ethos, Mission and Values into action for the wider local communities that we serve.
Annually we offer support to charities and projects which benefit some of the most vulnerable groups in society e.g. Homeless, Disability sector etc. Our hope is that, though our Community Initiative Funding, we might act as a catalyst in tackling social issues by supporting local charities in the excellent work that they are doing in the Community.
We can assist them financially or with expertise, often in collaboration and partnership with other likeminded organisations. We aim to support the most vulnerable, by supporting the excellent work being done by the charities who work with them on a daily basis.
Some of the Projects Include:
The leaders of Down Syndrome Cork decided to create a working garden/farm called “Field of Dreams” where individuals can come tend to the plants and crops, and more importantly to learn skills that will help make them employable within the community! They have training facilities on-site with a fully operational catering kitchen and tutors to teach the skills needed for competitive jobs! Simply by participating at the Field of Dreams, adults with DS can feel that sense of pride, dignity, and purpose that we all receive as a contributing worker! For aging parents of adults with DS, this will serve as a respite and a new way to help them encourage activity and learning for their children!
Bon Secours Hospital Cork has supported the largest of the gardens with a contribution of €30,000! We plan to continue our support of the Field of Dreams project through staff volunteerism and other means well into the future! To learn more about the Field of Dreams, and how it came to be, please visit www.fieldofdreamscork.ie.
The Bon Secours Hospital Cork and Care and Care Village have sponsored a litter of 7 puppies that will be trained as assistance dogs for children with Autism. The one picture is of our new litter nursing. They were just born on
12th May! We held a naming contest for the new puppies where staff submitted over 250 suggestions! We had the guide dogs and trainers here on-site at the hospital, so staff could visit and learn more about the way the dogs are prepared for assisting children with Autism. The nurse manager in the picture is Natalie Donnelly.
As part of the Community Initiative Programme, the Bon Secours Hospital Dublin recently donated €10,000 to ChildVision – National Education Centre for Blind Children. The money will provide a program of Equine Assisted Occupational Therapy (EAOT) Visually impaired children will be able to avail of horse riding sessions with a Horse Riding Instructor and an experienced side walker. The children will benefit greatly from the connection with the horses, the sensory experience of the horse’s movement and the increased demand of their postural control and the increased confidence that will be gained through such an experience.
Pictured at the cheque presentation are Sr Goretti Spillane of the Pastoral Care Team in the Bon Secours Hospital Dublin, Ruth Hickey of ChildVision and Mike Tonery Hospital Manager Bon Secours Hospital Dublin.
Mission Leader, Owen McCarthy, presenting a cheque to residents from Tigh an Oileáin, a facility for those with special needs and is part of the Kerry Parents and Friends Association and to Foodshare Kerry.
Other Community Initatives Include: