Mullingar AIB staff making a donation to Fidelma Bennett, TEAM, with on left, Martina Kennedy (retail manager), and on right, Catherine Stephens, Vanessa Brennan, Carol Nestor, Cormac Lynch and Miles Gillespie (branch manager).

AIB branches come together to support various local charities

AIB branches in Westmeath have come together to support local charities and help provide direct funds to local community efforts.

The sum of €200,000 has been made available to branches across the county (€1,000 per branch) as part of AIB Together, the bank’s community investment programme.

The Westmeath charities which received support from this fund in include: Pieta House; St Vincent De Paul; Esker House Women’s Refuge Centre and TEAM – Temporary Emergency Accommodation Midlands, which is based in Mullingar.

Paddy Whyte, head of AIB North East, said: “Covid-19 has presented many challenges and impacted every part of our society. We are all acutely aware of the impact on most charities’ fundraising efforts.

“We in AIB North East, covering Westmeath, Longford, Meath, Cavan, Monaghan and Louth, through the AIB Together Programme are delighted to have given support totalling €14,000 to 38 charities within our communities.”

The bank has also made a donation of €2.4million to help with the research for a Covid-19 vaccine in conjunction with Trinity College Dublin, as well as entering a partnership with Trinity to ensure that 450 laptop devices were delivered to second level students who were unable to attend school due to the Covid-19 crisis.

The Tech2Students initiative was begun by Trinity’s Access Programme in association with the charity Camara Education Ireland.

Founded in 2018, AIB Together provides a platform for staff to support charities and causes across Ireland.

Each AIB employee is entitled to two volunteering days per year to support their chosen cause as part of the programme and can volunteer or raise funds for a charity of their choice or one of the bank’s community partners.

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Photo at top - Mullingar AIB staff making a donation to Fidelma Bennett, TEAM, with on left, Martina Kennedy (retail manager), and on right, Catherine Stephens, Vanessa Brennan, Carol Nestor, Cormac Lynch and Miles Gillespie (branch manager).