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We are proud to announce that we have been selected as joint winners of this year's Excellence in Community Engagement Award for our COVID-19 Resource Campaign COVID-19 Sunrise, that highlighted the activities our partners are doing at a national and international level to support global communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are honoured to share this coveted award with Microsoft for 2021.
A huge thank you to all of our partners who supported this initiative in so many different ways to make it impactful and helped to pledge funds, source PPE, source tablets for care homes, provide training and free resources to those affected by the pandemic in Ireland and beyond. Not to mention those that took part in our 10 for 10 campaign to raise funds for #Comfort4Covid doing keepie uppies, headstands, skipping and all sorts.
Covid Sunrise
Host in Ireland president and founder, Garry Connolly, commented at the launch of this sub initiative in 2020:
“While many of us individually are pitching in to help protect the most vulnerable in our communities, our partners are providing valuable resources to help combat this pandemic on a variety of levels. Data centres are already playing a significant role in keeping the economy moving and now the industry is coming together and doing its bit in a whole different way.”
Data centers are a key piece of the jigsaw enabling us to live our lives in these disrupted times. While these essential workers are behind the scenes making sure our video conferencing, online learning and critical infrastructure are running smoothly, the community recognises there is a larger role to play. After all, we are all #InThisTogether.
The Covid Sunrise page on the Host In Ireland webpage included support information from our partners such as:
Education & Skills Development - In this time of economic uncertainty, professional development is an excellent way to keep industry knowledge fresh and skill sets marketable. Partners are offering a variety of courses to take, access to presentations and webinars, and guidance for reopening the world’s workplaces.
Financial Support - Highlights the financial contributions partner companies have made in their local communities to help mitigate the impact of the pandemic.
PPE & Frontline Support - With a growing shortage of personal protective equipment, medical devices, hand sanitizer and more needed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Host in Ireland partners are donating masks, creating face shields, and donating free services to 3D printing facilities to help address the problem both here in Ireland and abroad.
Social and Mental Health - Ensuring employees mental health is just as strong as their physical health, many partners are launching activities to boost morale and provide a wellness outlet during these challenging times.
Job Announcements - As an industry on the digital frontline, job opportunities within the industry are emerging as companies look to address the growing demand for data services.
The team at Host in Ireland, with the generous support of our partners, have also worked hard supporting Irish charities and campaigns that are spearheading COVID-19 relief efforts. News stories in 2020 highlighted the endless struggle of healthcare organisations in sourcing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for their frontline workers. Equally heart-wrenching are the stories of families not able to be with loved ones in hospital or care homes because of safety concerns from the coronavirus. We shone a spotlight on the far reaching activities our partners are doing at a national and international level to support global communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Going further again, Host in Ireland and its partners pledged €45,000 to support organisations addressing these critical issues.
The team at Comfort4Covid saw first hand the emotional burden of seeing critically ill patients fighting COVID-19 in intensive care alone without their family, as well as the strain for residents of care homes unable to have visitors due to the virus.
Comfort4Covid brought technology to patients and nursing home residents so that they can stay in touch with their families and see their faces despite the isolation. Their goal was to fund/source 600 tablets to donate to hospitals and nursing homes all around Ireland.
"An important contributor to the success we've had has been down to the involvement of Host in Ireland. The team has been so quick to offer a helping hand, being generous of time, resources and energy. They have helped us extend our fundraising reach, secure better prices and ultimately help more grandparents & parents isolated in nursing homes and hospitals stay connected with their families,” said Ciara Close, co-founder of Comfort4Covid. ‘By going above and beyond in helping make Comfort4Covid a success, they are helping to make the Irish response to Covid19 a success. To everyone at Host in Ireland, we say thank you!"
Globally, there was a massive shortage of personal protective equipment for our health workers and critical support staff to keep themselves as safe as possible. Masks 4 All Ireland coordinated a group of voluntary sewists to make the best possible reusable cotton face masks. These masks were made for those working and volunteering among the vulnerable as an initial priority, with care home staff and residents at the top of that priority.
“All of us in Masks 4 All Ireland have been overwhelmed by the support of Host in Ireland. We have purchased more raw materials at a better cost to maintain a consistent production right where the masks were needed,” said Mary Murphy, organiser of Masks 4 All Ireland. “This support has resulted in fuelling the manufacture of over 8,000 masks for health care workers in nursing homes all over the country.’
The Host in Ireland team also worked with our partners to connect critical PPE suppliers into the key affected hospitals. As supply chains for this equipment struggled, Host in Ireland partners stepped up to provide critical reinforcements and supply chain supports. As Ireland began to move past the initial lockdown phase, Host in Ireland continued to support new organisations and campaigns as needed.
At the time, the ideas, support, planning, contribution and action were automatic responses to the critical situation we found ourselves in globally. The Host In Ireland team worked together through it all with passion and purpose and were honoured to be able to impact in help in anyway we could. We highlighted the incredible responses of our partners and mobilised people and communities the best way we knew how. We did this for others, for their wellbeing and to help in a time of need. To be recognised for this work is humbling and we are honoured to accept this award, on behalf of our valued partners and with many thanks to the BroadGroup Team and our co winners, Microsoft.
Host In Ireland Partners 2021
