Medtronic workers, with two offices in Galway, have volunteered 2,220 hours to charities across Ireland.
Named Project 6, the campaign involved thousands of Medronic workers worldwide volunteering their services to charities during the month of June. It follows the company’s announcement of a €1 million health charity fund.
The global leader in medical technology has six locations in Ireland, and workers in Athlone, Dublin, Galway and Tullamore supported community organisations. The charities that benefited from the initiative included The Irish Red Cross - Nepal Earthquake Disaster; Simon Community; Down Syndrome Ireland; Alzheimer Society of Ireland; Blue Teapot Theatre Company; The Safe Talk Training initiative; Galway Autism Partnership; and, Galway Hospice.
Medtronic workers from both the Parkmore Business Park West and Mervue plants volunteered their time to support Galway Autism Partnership Garden; Galway Simon Community; Madra; Galway Hospice – Sunflower Day; Blue Teapot Theatre Company, and Anam Cara.
Volunteers at The Blue Teapot Theatre Company undertook a complete refurbishment of the theatre, which Petal Pilley described as “invaluable”.
“The Medtronic employee contribution involved the provision of a wheelchair access ramp and rubber flooring, electrical refit of the building, carpentry work throughout, new extraction fans for the bathroom areas, refurbishment of art rooms, kitchen area and foyers. In addition, the employees cleaned and painted the inside and outside of the building. Their support was invaluable and we can’t thank them enough for the time they spent supporting us in June.”
Another team of employees spent time with Galway Autism Partnership where they transformed its garden into a bright play area for the children.
Miriam Jennings of the Galway Autism Partnership said: “We were delighted to receive the help of the Medtronic employees. We’d like to thank them for the great work they did for us. I know the children using the playground and their parents are all delighted with the fresh new look and are enjoying their new surroundings.”
Alma Curran of Medtronic says Medtronic has been providing leadership and funding for worthy social causes for more than 37 years.
“ It is very rewarding to hear from the charities how much they value the work provided by our employees. As a company we are very proud of what our employees have achieved across the month of June.”
The Project 6 activity followed last month’s company announcement of a €1 million commitment to Irish communities, in partnership with local funding partners, The Community Foundation for Ireland and The Ireland Funds. The funding, which will be awarded over a three-year period, will be made available to Irish organisations with innovative ideas on how to remove barriers to healthcare in underserved Irish communities.
