North East Inner City charity providing youth services to receive transformational funding from local corporate donor

The corporate funding, officially announced by Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe TD at an event in BYC, was managed through The Community Foundation for Ireland.The funding will facilitate refurbishment works and the creation of a hub for restorative practice in Ireland.

Minister for Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe, TD said, "The 2017 Mulvey Report "Creating a Brighter Future" has been one of the most important Government frameworks in relation to the social and economic regeneration of Dublin's NEIC.The development of this vibrant community - my constituency- requires the involvement and cooperation of all local community stakeholders. By working together we can deliver so much more than we can by doing so independently. Today's announcement marks a clear declaration from corporate Ireland of the role that companies can play in improving the lives of those in the IFSC catchment area, through the delivery of much needed supports.

BYC provides homework facilities, a recreational space for sport, art and drama and a hot meal for between 70 - 90 children and teenagers daily. The charity was originally set up by Belvedere School over 100 years ago, but is now run independently. Troy Parrot who started for Ireland at the Aviva Stadium last night (14th November) against New Zealand has also attended BYC over many years. Parrot is one of Ireland's youngest ever international soccer players.

Andrew Condon, Chair of BYC said, "Within our Strategic Vision 2016-2020, BYC set out a clear roadmap as to how we would build our capacity to work with "hard to reach" children and young people within the NEIC. A cornerstone of our approach to this engagement (and sometimes re-engagement) has been taking the principles of Restorative Practice and bringing them into our daily work. Our vision is that BYC will now become a hub for Restorative Practice for communities across Ireland and today's announcement and the financial support of our partner, SMBC Aviation Capital, will allow us to bring this ambition to life."

Tina Roche, Chief Executive of The Community Foundation for Ireland added, "We are delighted to work on this significant project in an area of social need that has the potential to be far reaching into the community. We work with many corporate donors on their philanthropy journey and SMBC Aviation Capital is a role model to other companies who are looking to give back to their local communities in a strategic and impactful way."

Commenting, Peter Barrett CEO of SMBC Aviation Capital concluded, "BYC undertakes vital work every day in our local inner city to provide children and adolescents with access to services for learning and development. This will be our largest single investment in support of local communities, forming part of our ongoing, long term commitment to making a meaningful difference in the communities in which we operate. Our employees look forward to working closely with BYC over the next three years in the development of this hub."

BYC was selected because of the impact that these funds will have on the local community and the selection was based on a number of criteria, including sustainability, feasibility, governance and fit.

-ends-

For further information please contact:

Orla Benson, SMBC Aviation Capital: 086 047 4343

Hazel Hennessy, Community Foundation for Ireland: 083 150 1267

Lyle Hill, Finsbury: 00447919965716

Note to Editors:

About Restorative Practice:

RP is a social science that studies how to improve and repair relationships between people and communities. The purpose is to build healthy communities, increase social capital, decrease crime and antisocial behaviour, repair harm and restore relationships. It ties together research in a variety of social science fields, including education, psychology, social work, criminology, sociology, organisational development and leadership.RP is used in a variety of settings to manage and enhance relationships.

Project rollout:

It has been determined that the rollout of the initiative will happen over three years and in three phases.

Phase 1: Re-configuration of the BYC premises which involves building works to the basement of 41 Lower Buckingham St.

Phase 2: Action planning:In consultation with CYP, community and stakeholders, a RP programme will be designed and implemented by BYC.

Phase 3: Implementation: This process will be underpinned by an Action Research approach in partnership with a third level institution to enable continuous learning and growth.This includes upskilling of community workers.

About BYC

BYC (Belvedere Youth club) is Ireland's oldest youth service and was founded in 1918 as a response to the lack of facilities available to young people in Dublin's inner city. From its foundation, BYC has been dedicated to improving the opportunities and expanding the capacity of under-privileged young people in Dublin's inner city. Membership of BYC is open to any young person from 7 to 17, who live in the North East inner city.

In 1992 BYC opened its facility at 41 Buckingham Street, Dublin 1 where we deliver our youth services.Operating from a large - purpose built - premises, our team of specialists and professional youth work teams provide a range of services and supports to over 300 young people, including a drop in service, an extensive after school programme, educational supports, a volunteer-led evening and night time activity based programme, an off-site residential programme as well specific youth theatre, ICT, sports, arts and other projects (www.belvedereyouthclub.ie)

About The Community Foundation for Ireland:

The Community Foundation for Ireland works with individuals, families, corporates and other trusts and foundations to translate giving in the moment to giving that is strategic and impactful. We have been providing grants since 2000 and in 2018 we gave out almost €7.5 million to communities in Ireland abroad. We have a dedicated and committed staff; they have extensive experience of grant making from working with over 4,000 non-profit organisations at a national, regional and local level throughout Ireland and overseas. With over 1,800 community foundations globally, the community foundation model is proven and effective model for social change. www.communityfoundation.ie

About SMBC Aviation Capital:

Based in the IFSC in Dublin 1, SMBC Aviation Capital is one of the world's leading aircraft leasing companies, with 86 airline customers in 40 countries. At 31 March 2019, the company owns, manages and is committed to purchase 729 aircraft. Established in 2001, the company was acquired in 2012 by a consortium comprising of two of Japan's biggest companies SMFG and Sumitomo Corporation. For further information go to https://www.smbc.aero/