DCU Executive MBA year 1 class annual fundraiser for Focus Ireland

DCU Executive MBA year 1 class annual fundraiser for Focus Ireland

Each year DCU’s Executive MBA year 1 class are presented with a fundraising challenge. Professor Patrick Flood, MBA Lecturer in Organisation Behaviour and Change, asks that the class fundraise for Focus Ireland. The target each year is to beat the previous year’s total. The 2021 MBA year 1 class had to fundraise €4,700 this year. In early November, four MBA students volunteered to lead out the fundraising: Lisa Bergin, Sarah Campbell, Stephen Fealy and Robert Arthur. With Lisa leading the effort setting up a GoFundMe donations page, and all MBA students donating € 100 each at the outset, the target was quickly becoming less daunting. There were some innovative fundraiser initiatives  undertaken with Wayne Campbell getting a lot of friends and families to donate toward a virtual 5k run he was doing. The Corporate donations pushed us over the line in early December with FreeNow donating € 1,000. Other corporate donations came in from Google (€ 735), Sika Ireland (€ 500), Aviva (€ 250) and ESB (€ 250). The MBA year 1 class managed to fundraise € 7,235 (MBA year 2 students deserve a shout out on this as they generously donated again this year knowing they were beating their own record of €5,600!)

 Professor Flood thanked the class and the fundraising team for the massive effort put in and generous donations from the class, their family and friends and the various employers who all generously donated to Focus Ireland. While Covid restrictions precluded an in-person cheque presentation, Ciara Baumgartner of Focus Ireland met the MBA class on a zoom call. Ciara thanked all the class for their generosity and outlined the importance of donations to Focus Ireland’s activities. Ciara noted Focus Ireland’s aims in supporting people experiencing homelessness in Ireland and preventing homelessness. Focus Ireland is driven by the fundamental belief that homelessness is wrong and believes that everyone has a right to a place they can call home.  The DCU Executive MBA year 1 class were proud to fundraise for such a well regarded Irish charity and will be watching the year 1 class in 2022 closely to see if they can break the €7,235 target set.

At the moment homeless figures are on the way back upwards, with nearly 9000 people now finding themselves homeless, with 1 in 3 being a child. Over 2,500 children will be without a home this Christmas.

To support Focus Ireland you can donate at www.focusireland.ieor call: 01 8815900.