Galway-based charity ACT for Meningitis were accredited with All-Star charity status at a leading business summit in Croke Park last week.
The status is given to a charity after it is shown to have a planned growth strategy, a strong brand, and a major impact on the lives of those they are helping.
In all categories, ACT for Meningitis excelled and the judges praised the organisation for its success and for the manner in which it has conducted its business over the past few years.
The announcement was made at the Fourth Annual All-Ireland Business Summit, where a 1000-strong audience from all 32 counties were captivated by the speakers who revealed their top secrets, confessions and the do’s and don’ts that have helped them achieve their business success.
The Business All-Stars is an annual competition designed to identify, recognise and accredit Irish companies and individuals that have distinguished themselves in the conduct of their business over the last 12 months.
Speaking at the event, Kieran F. Ring, CEO Global Institute of Logistics, Deputy Chairperson Adjudication Panel said the decision to designate ACT for Meningitis with this All-Star accreditation 2018-19 is based on the score achieved in four rounds of intense competition.
“The application, supported by references, interviews, and independent ratings from the ‘mystery shopper’ process left the adjudication panel in no doubt that ACT for Meningitis is richly deserving of this accreditation. We would like to extend our sincere congratulations to all concerned and we wish you every success for the future”
In response to the announcement, Siobhan Carroll, CEO ACT for Meningitis said she would like to express ACT’s sincere thanks for being accredited as All- Star Support and Awareness Charity.
“Achieving All-Stars accreditation is a great source of pride for us and we look forward to continuing to meet and indeed exceed the standards set by the All-Star programme.
“The process which led to this accreditation truly stretched us, the structure of the competition required us to put our brand story on paper and gave us the opportunity to reflect on who we are, our growth strategy and above all the impact of our work on meningitis awareness, and the people affected by the disease in Ireland,” she said.
Ms Carroll went on to say that tThe opportunity to hear first-hand feedback from a Judge-Mentor, their existing service users, corporate partners and donors through the reference module combined with the results from the mystery shopper round was invaluable.
“We would like to thank all at the competition for making the effort to listen to our story, understand and accredit our business and above all help us to promote it.”
The competition finals benefited enormously from the atmosphere created at the All-Ireland Summit which was driven by the three key pillars of knowledge sharing, facilitating new business relationships and the continued improvement of business standards in Ireland, the All-Ireland Summit improves year-on-year – like so many of the great teams to have graced the hallowed turf of Croke Park.
Speaking at the summit, Dr Briga Hynes, Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick, Chairperson of the Adjudication Panel summed up the entire process by reminding the enterprises honoured with All-Star that ACT for Meningitis has demonstrated an ability to innovate and has impressive growth plans which no-doubt reflects the resilience and optimism that are the hallmarks of Irish entrepreneurs.
“ACT for Meningitis bring a real inspiration for what is possible in charities in Ireland and provide important role models for the many aspiring social entrepreneurs and existing charities,” she said.
