Refugees and Dubliners Volunteer Together to Support Local Communities
Dublin City Volunteer Centre celebrates Together for Better project for National Volunteering Week
PRESS RELEASE
15 May 2023
Over the past year, volunteers have come forward to help people arriving in Ireland as international protection applicants and those seeking refuge from the Ukraine and all around the world.
Many of these same refugees now give back to the communities that have welcomed them, and are volunteering locally while practising English and learning Irish culture in programmes like Dublin City Volunteer Centre’s Together for Better Project.
Together for Better invites newly arrived international protection applicants to volunteer alongside local Dublin City volunteers to connect and learn from each other while volunteering at events and community clean ups, as well as joining cultural exchange events.
Together for Better volunteer Kavya calls the programme, “an incredible opportunity to meet like-minded people who are both diverse and welcoming.”
Franzi O’Donnell, Dublin City Volunteer Centre’s Manager says, “Together for Better has been hugely successful in helping people seeking refuge in Ireland to integrate into local communities- and the community benefits from having extra hands to support local events and initiatives.”
She continued, “many people coming to Ireland through the International Protection Application process can feel quite isolated. They want to get to know their area, and often feel a desire to give back to the country that has taken them in, but they have limited ways of connecting with local people. Volunteering allows them to help out, keep busy, and get to know how things work in Ireland.”
While many IP Applicants want to volunteer, lack of transportation and uncertainty about the future can be a barrier, as Franzi O’Donnell explains, “organisations often require a time commitment of 3 months or more from volunteers, but IP Applicants may not know how long they will be living in one location. This really limits the volunteering opportunities available to them. The Together for Better project connects IP applicants with short term and once off volunteering opportunities and arranges transportation as needed.”
Volunteers like Adeyemi says that volunteering with Together for Better has improved his quality of life, and help him connect with people locally, “I started volunteering because I feel it’s my responsibility to support the community, and I have the time to do it. Volunteering enhances my life and gives me the opportunity to interact more fully with people in my community.”
Other programmes have also seen an increase in interest in volunteering form IP applicants. Global Action Plan’s Sharon Harvey says, “Last year, we noticed a big increase in applications to volunteer in our community garden. Out of 140 applications, about 120 were from people living in local hotels while applying for international protection. There is a great atmosphere in between volunteers, everyone gets along. Every volunteer brings culture and good humor to the garden and we just love having them here.”
The Together for Better project is a joint initiative run by the Dublin City Volunteer Centre and Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS) and is funded by The Community Integration Fund/The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
National Volunteering Week is a week-long celebration of
volunteering that will take place from Monday 15 May – Sunday 21 May
2023.
For more information, visit: https://volunteerdublincity.ie/together-for-better/
#nvwireland #connectingcommunities
ENDS
For further information contact:
Naomi Shea, Dublin City Volunteer Centre, naomi@volunteerdublincity.ie, 086 047 1667
NOTE TO EDITORS
Dublin City Volunteer Centre
Dublin City Volunteer Centre connects volunteers with organisations that need them. Our mission: People in Dublin City are empowered to connect with and contribute to an inclusive, vibrant and sustainable society through volunteering.
Dublin City Volunteer Centre is part of a network of 29 Volunteer Centres throughout Ireland and a member of Volunteer Ireland. Our core funding is provided by the Department of Rural and Community Development.