OVER the last week, Regeneron has donated more than 7,000 items of food and household goods to five Limerick-based charities.
The company worked with Focus Ireland, the Mid-West Simon Community, Novas Ireland, the Peter McVerry Trust and the Redemptorists to develop a shopping list and then purchased essential items including food, paper goods, detergents and much more to support each organisation’s needs.
“Focus Ireland, Novas, the Peter McVerry Trust, Mid-West Simon Community Center and the Redemptorists do so much good for so many in our community. It is our privilege to support these organisations and we hope Regeneron’s donations will help them reach more people who need assistance this Christmas,” said Niall O’Leary, Senior Vice President and Site Head, Regeneron Ireland Industrial Operations and Product Supply.
Focus Ireland will distribute the donated goods to the people they serve across the Mid West: 282 singles, over 150 families and 60 young people between the ages of 18-23.
The Mid-West Simon Community distributed the donated goods at their December 22 Christmas Food Bank attended by more than 700 of their community clients.
“The timing is perfect to enable us to distribute these goods to the most vulnerable in our community. This donation will go a long way in supporting clients and alleviate some of the financial burden that people experience at Christmas, and especially in light of Covid. This donation means that people can pay a utility bill or feed their families comfortably this Christmas. Without this kind gesture, they may not have been able to do so. Thank you, Regeneron,” commented Eleshia Fahy, Head of Operations, Mid-West Simon.
Novas Ireland will use the donations to provide meals for over 100 residents at three of their sites.
The Peter McVerry Trust provides services and housing to more than 150 households in Limerick and will distribute the donated supplies to more than 200 people.
“Each person that we work with receives their own support plan to put food on the table and have household supplies while they move onto the next chapter in their lives. These necessities are provided by Peter McVerry Trust through generous and kind donations from individuals and organisations like Regeneron. We are incredibly grateful to the Regeneron team for their consistent support to help people leave homelessness behind them for good.” Sinead Flynn, The Peter McVerry Trust
The Redemptorists will include the donated goods in some of the more than 6,000 hampers they provide to those in need each year as part of their Christmas Hamper Appeal programme.
The programme serves the elderly, those living alone, those experiencing homelessness or at risk of being homeless and those experiencing domestic abuse in Limerick city, county and surrounding areas.
“Our focus is on food however we have been keenly aware of the need for such household and personal items. Our budget does not allow us to supply them on any great scale, therefore the Regeneron donation has been really helpful and very much appreciated.” Eileen Hoffler, Redemptorists
