In our July feature, we wanted to take the opportunity to thank our wonderful Birmingham community for all of the donations received so far in support of our CEO, Maurice Malone, as he will be representing the Irish Youth Foundation in the Vitality Big Half Marathon on the 22 August.

Established in 1989, the Irish Youth Foundation is an incredibly special organisation, who have been supporting ours and countless other projects across our city, and are the only national charity in Britain who specifically aim to help disadvantaged young Irish people and their families.

The Irish Youth Foundation support a wide range of projects including: help for the homeless; employment and training schemes; women and children escaping violence; young offenders; Irish Travellers; mental health; drug and alcohol rehabilitation programmes; cross-community initiatives as well as social and cultural activities encouraging young people’s awareness of their Irish heritage.

We believe that supporting the Irish Youth Foundation in this way is the very least we can do for them, as their help has been crucial in providing guidance and support to the entire city in these incredibly difficult times we have been facing.

If you have not yet, and would like to sponsor Maurice in his journey to the finish line on the 22 August, we would like to thank you so much and invite you to click here to visit our Virgin Money Giving fundraising page.

“The past year has been difficult for us all on a personal level and the impact of the pandemic has had a disastrous effect on charities who heavily rely on fundraising to survive and provide the fantastic services to our community.

"I am delighted to be given the opportunity to take part in the Vitality Big Half to raise funds for the Irish Youth Foundation. For many years they have funded organisations throughout the UK to allow us to support the young people in our community. Without this money, many of the projects aimed at supporting our young people simply wouldn’t happen.

"It has been well documented that mental health and well-being will be an issue for many in the years to come following the pandemic and in particular amongst the younger generation. Please help me to give something back and support the Irish Youth Foundation in their work to provide organisations with the financial backing to support and care for those young people in our community.

“Training is painful and slow at this point and I ache in places I didn’t know existed! However, I'm determined to see the challenge through and if I can get around the course in one piece and finish before it gets dark I will be delighted! Please dig deep to support the Irish Youth Foundation and their wonderful projects. Thank you so much."

Maurice Malone, CEO of Birmingham Irish Association

Go to fundraising page >