'Don't give something up, give something to someone hungry': Call for 40 clubs to support appeal

Sinead Crowley has been volunteering with Cork Penny Dinners for the last four years.

The Clonakilty woman had heard about the work of Caitriona Twomey and her team and started organising local collections.

“I have done different collections for them, maybe two or three times a year,” she says.

“On a pretty regular basis, people would give me stuff for them. Usually when my car is full, I would take it up. But then, a couple of times a year I might do a collection, like Christmas time or Easter.”

Sinead is active within the GAA and is a member of the National Equity, Diversity and Inclusion working group.

For Easter this year she is encouraging her own club, Clonakilty GAA, and as many clubs and community groups as possible, to support Penny Dinners.

“This Lent, my wish would be for 40 clubs in Cork county to join me in supporting Cork Penny Dinners and, instead of giving something up, give something to someone hungry,” she says.

As a family support worker and secretary of the local branch of the Irish Red Cross, she sees first-hand the effect that poverty has on her community.

“Hunger and poverty is a huge, huge problem at the moment,” she says.

She had been toying with the idea of running a campaign involving clubs for some time.

“This was in the back of my head for a while about doing something with clubs. And then I was thinking that I’d just go for it this year, but instead of having just GAA clubs, that I’d open it up to everybody,” she says.

Any clubs, community groups or individuals who would like to get involved are welcome to join the appeal.

Her message is that hunger doesn’t wear club colours.

“At the moment, there’s a couple of GAA clubs, there’s rugby, football, Women’s Shed. A woman who has her own business has offered to do it in her premises down in Cobh,” she says.

The campaign is running from Wednesday, March 5, until Sunday, April 13, to allow time for delivery to Cork Penny Dinners before Easter.

People are welcome to participate for any amount of time within that period.

“One club has come back and said that they’re going to do it for a period of two weeks, and then another group came back and said they’re thinking of doing it on two Saturdays. So there’s no hard and fast rules, it’s just whatever suits people,” says Sinead.

For this appeal, Cork Penny Dinners is asking for non-perishable items like tinned food, spaghetti, crackers, and pasta.

“They will be giving hampers of food to people in emergency accommodation, on the street, living in B&Bs, as well as families who have to pay for electricity, or they have to pay for something for their child, so they can’t eat.”

More than 10 clubs have already signed up, and Sinead is hoping they can reach 40 before Easter, but she is happy with any donations.

“If we got 40, it would be fantastic.”

Sinead wants to make it as easy as possible for people and organisations to get involved.

“The last thing I want to be doing - especially in clubs because they’re hugely reliant on volunteers, and the volunteers that are there are flat out already, either coaching or whatever they’re doing - is to be creating more work for them,” she says.

“There is no application form or anything like that. They can just contact me.”

People taking part are welcome to organise their own collection and drop-off, or delivery can be arranged through a company that has offered drivers and vans, or with a local courier in Clonakilty, Timmy McDermott, who has pledged his support.

The main goal for Sinead is to collect as much food as possible for the people who need it most.

“Some people have already had their own little take on what they’re going to do, and that’s fine. I don’t even know whether they need help with delivery or not, but we can figure the logistics out. Basically, whatever it takes to get food into Penny Dinners,” she says.

For more information and to join the Easter campaign for Penny Dinners, contact Sinead on bruachnafeile@gmail.com.

To support Cork Penny Dinners, visit corkpennydinners.ie.