Now more than ever we need your support.

Today, on Barnardos Giving Day, kindly supported by DELL Technologies, our Director of Marketing, Communications and Fundraising, Mary Gamble , reflects on the significance of the day as one of the most important days on our fundraising calendar.

“I often experience moments working in Barnardos that stop me in my tracks. Visiting our many services across Ireland you get to see a glimpse into another world that the general public aren’t always aware of. One of these moments happened last week when I saw a FREE TO TAKE sign on a clothes rail in our Mulhuddart Early Years centre in Dublin. It wasn’t the ordinary type of everyday clothes that had caught my eye but the fact that it was a Unicorn Fairy costume, a Harry Potter cloak, a Buzz Lightyear costume and a Firefighter costume.

Poverty can impact a child’s life in so many ways. Playtime is an essential part of childhood but sadly ‘dress up’ clothes are a luxury many parents facing the impact of the ongoing cost of living crisis simply can’t afford. Seeing that sign alongside the lovely colourful costumes really hit home about how rising costs and financial pressure is affecting a whole generation of vulnerable children.

Our staff are reporting a rise in demand across our services with greater complexity of needs which require longer time and a higher level of support than in previous years. This has led to increased waiting lists in many of our services. We are working with families experiencing domestic violence, parental and children’s mental health issues, homelessness and parental addiction issues all of which is exacerbated by the underlying impact of poverty.

With over six decades of experience working with vulnerable children, we have seen first-hand that the longer a child spends living in deprivation and coping with childhood trauma, the greater an impact it can have on their future. We will continue to work every day at the heart of communities to put smiles back on the faces and the light back into the eyes of the most vulnerable children in Ireland, so they can have the same opportunities as every other child. But we need help to do that.

Every year we rely on the kindness of the public to help us raise the funds we need to reach as many struggling families as possible. We cannot provide the love, care and support these children so desperately need without the generosity of our wonderful supporters. You can help us make a difference to the lives of so many vulnerable children with a donation today.”

Now more than ever we need your support.

Barnardos worked with 20,838 children and families last year, an increase of 24% the previous year. Demand for our services increases day by day, with more families and children being pulled into deprivation. Many families are being forced to go without basic essentials, like food, heat and electricity, with many children are feeling the impact on their mental and physical health, wellbeing and development.

Barnardos’ services deliver both practical and emotional support for children and families in homes, schools and communities or in one of our 54 services across the country. We do this by providing items like basic hygiene essentials to keep a family clean and healthy, food parcels to help with the increasing costs of providing nutritious meals, fuel and energy support, as well as therapeutic family support and traumatic bereavement and grief counselling.

Because Childhood Lasts A Lifetime.

Please donate today at www.barnardos.ie/donate