Since 2018, the Irish Red Cross has celebrated inspiring and remarkable people and organisations through their annual presentation of the Humanitarian Awards. ElectricAid and two other companies have been shortlisted as recipients for the Corporate Impact award. Previous winners have included REVOLUT, Aviva and Nestlé Ireland. This award recognises an Ireland-based business that has demonstrated an exemplary contribution to a humanitarian cause through the active engagement of employee volunteer programmes, skill-sharing, fundraising and other activities.  

Corporate organisations like ESB often have a tremendous impact in the advancement of humanitarian causes. Businesses which focus on the social good of the community not only directly contribute crucial skills and resources to benefit others, but they establish a sense of purpose, employee engagement and overall place within the organisation itself. ElectricAid has a simple vision. To improve the lives of communities in Ireland and around the world in a sustainable and cost-effective way for its members. Guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, this employee-led charity from ESB and EirGrid is dedicated to delivering aid to those who need it most and creating lasting change by taking a sustainable approach to empowerment. 

Over the years, ElectricAid has developed and changed, increasing its reach and range of activities to tackle a variety of humanitarian issues, from urgent appeals, food security and access to clean water, to education and healthcare. Through strategic partnerships, innovative programs, and grassroots initiatives, the charity has stayed true to its founding values whilst remaining agile and ready to respond to the ever-changing needs of the global community.  

ElectricAid has supported over 2,500 projects since it was founded. The total value of these projects is more than €25 million Euro, which has been distributed across thirty-four countries, with an average cost of €11,250 Euro per project.   

At the heart of ESB are our values. These values to be driven, caring, trusted and courageous are strong and deeply felt and guide everything that we have done and continue to do. Our employee charity ElectricAid is a proof point of the power of the combination of our values, brought to life.  ElectricAid is powered by its member. ESB and EirGrid both match their employee and retired colleagues’ donations at a ratio of 2:3.   Also, if a donor donates over €250 a year (i.e. €5 per week), the charity can claim a 40% Revenue refund. So, with the multiplier effect an ElectricAid donation is more than doubled (€5 a week becomes €11) with 99.6% of this going to those who need it most.

ElectricAid makes a promise. That it will facilitate a process that is the most financially effective and efficient way for you to help fight poverty, injustice, ignorance, and ill-health both here in Ireland and all over the world. We deliver on this promise, with 2023 being no exception.

In 2023, we funded 23 education projects. This does not include our strategic partnership with SeeBeyondBorders in Cambodia. Many of our projects in this space concentrated on delivering access to education to girls, children with disabilities, and those most marginalised through extreme poverty/

We funded 20 projects under the Basic Infrastructure category. These were mostly water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) projects, with some lighting and power projects.

We funded 17 healthcare projects. These ranged from delivering a power supply to a neo-natal unit in Togo, to circulating communication aids to verbally impaired palliative care patients throughout Ireland. We also made contributions towards a school-based eye health project which prevents childhood blindness in Nepal. 

We funded 8 projects In the Agriculture & Food Security space. We helped projects such as funding sustainable community poultry farms Guatemala, and the introduction of drought tolerant crops for smallholders in Kenya.

The remaining 11 projects in our 2023 funding round concentrated on helping in areas such as small-scale emergency relief, finance and enterprise, human rights, and promoting climate resilience. In 2024 we will continue with our fruitful partnership with MADIPA in Uganda which concentrates on developing income-generating streams for people with disabilities, helping them live undependably self-sufficient lives.

Following on from our work in 2022, when our special donations (mostly for Ukraine) reached €190,000 this year our funding went towards emergencies & humanitarian appeals.

This year we contributed €174,000 towards emergency relief following the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, €50,000 as a response to the devastation in Libya and Morocco, and (so far) €106,500 towards the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Gaza. This financial assistance has saved and rebuilt lives and was made possible through our members generosity and staff initiatives such as the ESB Athletic Club directing the proceeds from their 5K charity run fundraiser to the Morocco and Libya humanitarian appeal.

Our 2023 Spending in numbers:

 Project Funding (85 projects)              €980,000

 Strategic pilot funding                           €33,000

 Turkey/Syria response                            €174,000

 Libya/Morocco response                        €€50,000

 Gaza response                                         €100,000 (TO DATE)

Totals since our foundation:

Project Funding:                                                      €28 million

Projects Helped:                                                      2,956

Appeal Funding:                                                     €3.6 million

We, the team at ElectricAid wish to thank our members and supporters, who have stood with us, and more importantly, stood with the thousands of people all over the world who need our help. We also wish to thank our corporate sponsors, EirGrid and ESB for their continued and enduring support and for their additional and remarkable generosity towards our appeals. ElectricAid’s overheads are less than 0.4% which means that 99.6% of our income is spent directly on programmes and projects. Also, donations are added to an ESB and EirGrid 2:3 basis match-fund. Without the culmination of all these contributions, generosity, and solidarity ElectricAid cannot operate and continue its quest to help those who need it most.

Please see below, our end of year newsletter.

ElectricAid with a matched donation from ESB has generously contributed €100,000 in aid to those impacted by the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. These funds have been donated equally to two charity partners -UNICEF and The Irish Red Cross.    

The Irish Red Cross donations were made through  their international committee The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) who are currently delivering much needed shipments of critical medical supplies, water and food for those in urgent need.

Providing an update from Gaza The Irish Red Cross reports that out of a total population of 2.2 million, approximately 1.5 million have been internally displaced with hundreds of thousands sheltering in hospitals, schools, churches, public buildings and with host families. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society state that they have received approximately 3,000 reports of missing persons including 1,350 children. Since the start of this conflict, PRCS Emergency Medical Technicians have responded to 9,334 injured and 2,988 killed and tragically 4 of their paramedics have died and 22 have been injured. To date the PRCS has received 259 shipments for these services including food parcels and items, medical supplies, consumables and equipment, non-food items, safe drinking water, milk and diapers for children, tents and cleaning materials and they are continuing to support the overall coordination of Disaster Relief Management services in Gaza.  So far 68,913 families have been reached through this engagement which have provided critical aid to 379,037 family members and the provision of food parcels and items, hygiene kits, milk for children and safe drinking water.  

“The Irish Red Cross is grateful for the ongoing support of ElectricAid and ESB – with particular regard to the organisation’s crucial contribution to our emergency assistance of those who have been impacted by the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza and the recent devastating earthquakes in Morocco.   

Over 10,000 have been killed and thousands more have been injured.  Within Gaza, electricity, fuel, water, food and medical supplies remain extremely limited as a result of stringent blockades imposed by the Israeli Government.

Since the start of the conflict, the Irish Red Cross has worked to provide financial support to the Palestinian Red Crescent to enable it’s 100 medical staff and emergency medical technicians to carry out their crucial humanitarian work. 

As a humanitarian relief agency whose purpose is to provide assistance to those in need, the Irish Red Cross remains politically neutral in its support for those impacted by the war – however, given the humanitarian crisis that continues to unfold within Gaza, we have made the decision to focus our support to this region alone.

Palestine Red Crescent Society teams are responding to the developments on the ground in both Gaza Strip and the West Bank”.

Charlie Lamson – Head of Fundraising, the Irish Red Cross

Thank you to all ElectricAid members for your ongoing contributions. If anyone would like to donate further here is a link to a once-off Gaza donation form.

The scale of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is worsening day by day with devastation and displacement made worse by the critical shortages of even very basic necessities. ElectricAid announced donations of €25,000 each to UNICEF and The Red Cross towards their Gaza support funding appeals.  ESB is now matching these two donations with an additional €50,000 to be also divided between the two charities, bringing the overall sum donated by ESB and Electric Aid to €100,000.  

In Gaza children and families are running out of food, water, electricity, medicine and safe access to hospitals. UNICEF and The Red Cross are on the ground helping those who need help most. Medical professionals have described the “catastrophic” conditions at one central Gazan hospital. They reported on how electricity and fuel supplies are running out and how their crippled medical facilities are rapidly becoming overwhelmed.
These charities are courageously working with the people of Gaza and are providing medical assistance, first-aid emergency kits, blankets and tarpaulin and water purification tablets..  

If you would like to make a donation, please see the form below.

https://forms.office.com/e/zNCvkYjMBp

One of ElectricAid’s largest sources of income is our annual tax rebate under the Revenue Commissioner’s Charitable Donation Scheme.

We’re incredibly grateful for the continued support and generosity of our donors. With your help, your donation could go that bit further releasing an additional 45% of your annual donation via Revenue.

Here’s how it works

When one of our donors contributes €250 or more in a year either by monthly or one-off donations, ElectricAid can claim a 45% rebate. In order to do this, we need a signed CHY 3 form  from each of our eligible donors.

CHY 3 forms are valid for five years, so if you signed back in 2017 or earlier, it is now expired and you need to renew.

Simply complete and scan the attached form and return to electricaid@esb.ie or the postal address below and the ElectricAid team will process the claim via Revenue. It’s entirely optional but makes a massive difference to ElectricAid allowing us to fund even more projects at home and abroad.

Thank you to everyone who has returned forms so far, it’s never too late to send a form our way and we’ll do the rest.

Postal address: ElectricAid, 1st Floor, ESB Head Office, Fitzwilliam Street Lower, Dublin, D02 KT92

The ESB Athletic Club’s recent 5K charity run in aid of Libya and Morocco, raised just under €7K. The outstanding contribution made by the 460 5K Challengers is now going to be combined with an additional €50,000 which ESB has pledged towards humanitarian aid.

This contribution will have an incredible impact on the lives of those affected by this terrible tragedy.

The Morocco earthquake ripped through the Atlas Mountains on Friday 8 September, leaving death and destruction in its wake, in one of the most beautiful and remote regions of the country. Within days there was widespread destruction across Libya’s east after Storm Daniel led to heavy flooding, with experts estimating that 30 million cubic metres of water were released into Derna after the dams broke. The humanitarian aid need in both countries is high. 

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Today, ElectricAid has responded with a commitment of €20,000 to be shared equally to both devastated regions. Working with partners The Red Cross and UNICEF pledges of €10,000 will go to each region to help with the much relied on relief effort. This donation has been made possible through the tireless fundraising and commitment to helping those less fortunate held by the ElectricAid membership.  

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Thank you for your continued support of ElectricAid, you are truly making a difference to the most marginalised people in society.  

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On Friday 8th September, ElectricAid held launched the 2022 Annual Report in F27.

This was an informal networking event which allowed the ElectricAid committee to meet the faces behind the wonderful charities that they regularly support.

Both Paddy Hayes and Jim Dollard joined the ElectricAid committee in welcoming the charity partners.

Shana Dillon, Organisation Development Manager, opened the event and Judith Doherty, Chair of ElectricAid, gave an overview of the charity’s performance in 2022.

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We are incredibly grateful for all of the support from our ElectricAid members.
This support allows us to truly make a difference.

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