£haela FOUNDATION Annual Report 2019
Annual Report 2019
Contents
1. Chairman’s welcome - John McAreavey
2. A message from Mickey Harte
3. Trust details
4. Purposes of the charity and governance
Vision Charity Objectives Governing Document Going Concern Risk management Public Benefit Disclosure of Information Statement of Trustees’ Responsibility
I have learnt that everyone is going through their own challenges and we can’t judge a book by it’s cover. It’s important to check up on friends and there’s nothing wrong with asking for help. 55
5. Financial Statements
Financial Review and summary of the year Receipts and Payments Balance sheet
6. Review of Charitable Activities
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Summer Camps
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Wings Awards
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Heart & Soul Retreats
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Fundraisers
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Bits ‘n’ Piece
7. Thank you
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Annual Report 2019
Chairman’s Welcome
This year has been a great success for Michaela Foundation. We continued to deliver on the hugely successful Michaela Foundation Summer camps, delivering 18 camps in total and in doing so, were able to impact 1,355 young Campettes and over 370 volunteers.
We introduced two camps to new locations in Craigavon (Armagh) and Kircubbin, Newtownards (Down), with both being very well received by their local communities. It is now 8 years since we launched our inaugural camp in Glencull, Tyrone back in 2012 and we continue to deliver the same magic with our fantastic volunteers.
Our other flagship programmes that now form part of our overall annual programme delivery continue to be delivered with great success, The Wings Awards programme which celebrates and supports young people doing incredible things in their communities as well as the ‘Heart & Soul’ Retreats which allow us to deliver a faith and wellbeing programme in schools throughout Ireland.
We had close to 60 applications for the 2019 Wings awards and we were able to award 10 winners a grant of £250 whilst we produced video of all winners, showing the public exactly what they achieved. We were blown away by some of the fantastic winners and are looking forward to more nominations in 2020.
Our Heart & Soul Retreats were delivered 25 times in 2019, reaching 750 participants in schools throughout Ulster. These Students are now more knowledgeable around the area of resilience, selfacceptance and gratitude. The autumn programme was again very well received which you will see from some of the feedback shared later. I believe there is a huge demand and requirement for this type of activity and we have the skills, care and passion at Michaela Foundation to provide this.
In 2019 we introduced Clare Cunningham into the Michaela Foundation team in the role of Operations Assistant and she really has hit the ground running! Her passion for our cause is evident and I’d like to commend Clare on her successful first year.
I’d also like to commend Orla McIntyre our Operations Manager who goes from strength to strength with another great year of leadership under her belt. Orla is a delight to work and requires little direction in executing our strategy, well done Orla!
Lastly, I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone who volunteered their time and energy for Michaela Foundation in 2019. Our volunteers are the heartbeat of our organisation and they continue to carry out their roles with passion, energy and love… Thank you!
John McAreavey Chairman Michaela Foundation December 2019
A Message from Mickey Harte
Reflecting on another very successful year where the Michaela Foundation has impacted in a most positive way on the lives of many young people, their families and their communities.
I want to thank most sincerely John for his selfless dedication which ensures that the activities of the Foundation are carried out in a most professional manner. His voluntary input to all things pertaining to the Michaela Foundation is truly admirable.
His close working relationship with our excellent operations manager Orla on a day to day basis guarantees that he always has his finger on the pulse of Michaela Foundation activities and innovation.
66 The Michaela Foundation has impacted in a most positive way on the lives of many young people, their families and their communities.
On behalf of all the trustees I would once again like to highly commend John for another concise, detailed and informative annual report.
Mickey Harte Trustee
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Annual Report 2019
Trust Details
Official charity name: Michaela Foundation
Charity Number: NIC 105705. We are registered as a charity by the Northern Ireland Charity Commission
Charity classifications:
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The advancement of education
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The advancement of health or the saving of lives
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The advancement of citizenship or community development
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The advancement of the arts, culture, heritage or science
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Other charitable purposes
Area of operation: Ireland
Address and registered office:
Unit 6, Banbridge Enterprise Centre, Scarva Road Industrial Estate, Banbridge, Co. Down, BT32 3QD
Board of Trustees
Chairman - John McAreavey Trustee - Mickey Harte Trustee - Catherine Strain Trustee - Brendan McAreavey Trustee - Matthew Harte
New trustees are voted in following a proposal by any of the current Trustees which can be made at any time. We aim for a unanimous agreement before potential trustees are approached. No other individual or organisation can appoint trustees.
Governing Document: Trust Deed
The Trust was formed on 25th June 2011 as a charity and is governed by its Trust Deed signed on the same date.
The registration with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland happened on 28th September 2016
Bankers: Danske Bank, Banbridge, Northern Ireland.
Website: www.michaelafoundation.com
Email: enquiries@michaelafoundation.com
Charity’s Purpose
Michaela Foundation is
inspired by the life of Michaela McAreavey. We offer young people throughout Ireland the chance to experience and live out our ‘Life Without Limits’ ethos by offering programmes tailored to establish a happy, confident, faith filled life.
The mission of Michaela Foundation is to promote our core values through each and every activity we operate. Our core values are as follows;
Vision
We believe that young people yearn for guidance about how to achieve a fulfilled life. We want every young person to feel loved and to see how beautiful they truly are. To do this we train young volunteers in how to achieve this and inspire them to follow our ethos and to be role models of Michaela Foundation.
Charity Objectives
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The delivery of Summer Camps for young girls aged 11-13 throughout Ireland during the summer which deliver our core values and aim to enrich the girls attending.
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The opportunity for volunteers to learn our ethos and help us deliver our core values through our programmes.
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The delivery of Workshops and retreats in Faith, Irish Culture and Well-being for young people in schools and other public areas.
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The recognition, promotion and award of young people who share and exhibit our ethos through their endeavours with us in our projects and by themselves in their local communities.
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Irish – The love of Irish language and cultural identity.
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Faith – The development of trust and a relationship with God who loves us dearly.
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Fun – Having fun throughout our life!
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Well-Being – Looking after our mental and physical self and that of others.
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Fashion – An expression of our creativity and artistic self.
Governing Document:
Trust Deed. The Trust was formed on 25th June 2011 as a charity and is governed by its Trust Deed signed on this date. The registration with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland happened on 28th September 2016.
We concentrate on attracting donors and volunteer groups, and the delivery of our services in Ireland to young people looking for opportunities to enhance their lives.
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Annual Report 2019
Charity’s Purpose
Going Concern
The Trusts financial position and performance has been outlined in the financial review. The Trustees have assessed projected future income, expenditure and cash flows and have analysed the strength of the Trust’s reserves, its liquid assets and its ability to withstand a material fall in incoming resources. Consideration has been given to stability and diversity of various income streams in making this assessment.
The Trustees have concluded that there is a reasonable expectation that the Trust has adequate resources to continue activities for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.
Risk Management
The Trustees are satisfied that the major risks identified in the main areas - financial, governance, operational, compliance and external – have been mitigated through proper and comprehensive planning and operational decision-making, management systems, insurance cover, specialist advice and holding appropriate levels of funds for residual reserves. The risk management assessment is monitored regularly by the staff and by the Trustees. The Trustees have also considered any potential conflicts of interest and the implications of the Bribery Act 2010.
Public Benefit
The Trustees confirm that they have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity’s aims and objectives and setting grant making policies. In particular, the Trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set.
Disclosure of Information
The Trustees who held office at the date of approval of this Trustees’ report confirm that they have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as a Trustee to make themselves aware of any relevant financial information and to establish that the relevant authorities are aware of that information.
Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities
The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations. In preparing the financial statements the Trustees are required to select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently, observe the methods and principles in the charities SORP (Statement of Recommended Practice), make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent, and prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue its activities.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity’s transactions, and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Trust. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Trust and for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the financial information included on the charity’s website. Legislation in the UK governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Financial Statements
Financial Review and Results
During the year the Trust raised £114,452. Total expenditure for the year was £119,670.
The core costs of the Trust were covered by Project Income, fundraising and donations.
Our main funding continues to come from our summer camp income along with fundraising events organised by us and for us. Fundraising activities raised £37,073 which was up on 2018, thanks to our Ulster GAA partnership and other events. In 2019 our volunteers were more active in individual and team fundraising events which helped considerably.
The Trustees have continued to focus on creating sustainable income streams and three primary objectives for income generation:
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To ensure core costs remain covered by Camp Income, Fundraising events and donations.
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To demonstrate long-term relationships with supporters based on effective stewardship and evidence of the impact of its programmes;
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To develop the volunteering programme while at the same time promoting a high degree of integrity and social responsibility towards the expectations of volunteers and local host communities.
Furthermore the Trustees continue to ensure expenditure is monitored regularly and is in line with approved budgetary controls.
I maintain a daily contact with Operational Manager and work voluntarily to help with the running of the charity. As a Chartered Accountant, fiscal responsibility is of upmost importance to me which is reflected in the financial running of the trust.
Approved by the Board of Trustees and signed on its behalf by,
John McAreaveyChairman
Thank you to everyone who continues to help Michaela Foundation, on behalf of the many beneficiaries we are truly grateful for helping to give so many opportunities to so many young people.
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Annual Report 2019
Receipts & Payments
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A1 Receipts Unrestricted Funds Total Funds
Donations & Legacies 7,853 7,853
Grants - -
Fundraising Activities 37,073 37,073
Dividend on Investments - -
- -
Members’ subscriptions
Charitable trading receipts 69,526 69,526
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Rents from land & buildings
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Other charitable receipts
A1 Sub Total (Gross income for the Annual Return) 114,452 114,452
A2 Asset and Investment Sales
Proceeds from sale of Fixed Asset - -
- -
Loan repayment received
A2 Sub Total - -
Total Receipts 114,452 114,452
A3 Payments
Cost of fundraising events 16,584 16,584
Gross trading payments 36,485 36,485
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Investment management costs
Direct charitable activity 66,601 66,601
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Grants & donations paid
Governance costs - -
Other costs - -
A3 Sub total 119,670 119,670
A4 Asset and investment
Purchase of investments - -
Loans made - -
A4 Sub total - -
Total Payments 119,670 119,670
Net of receipts / (payments) 5,219 5,219
A5 Transfers between funds
A6 Cash funds last year end 340,340 340,340
Cash funds this year end 335,121 335,121
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Balance Sheet
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B1 Cash Funds Unrestricted Funds Total funds Last year
Current Account 5,587 5,587 11,655
Deposit Account 301,170 301,170 300,494
Debtors 83
Credit Card Account 324 324 571
Euro Account - Converted to GBP 28,771 28,771 28,763
Total cash funds 335,121 335,204 340,340
B2 Other Monetary Assets
- - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
Total - - -
B3 Investment Assets
- - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
Total - - -
B4 Assets retained for the
charity’s own use
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Buildings 25,000 25,000
Motor Vehicles - 3,750 5,000
Total - 27,500 30,000
B5 Liabilities
- - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
Total - - -
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Annual Report 2019
Review of Charitable Activities
Our Girls Summer Camp season of 2019 saw us host a whopping 18 camps throughout Ireland! We brought 2 new camps to the areas of Craigavon, Co. Armagh and Kircubbin, Co. Down, in what was our 8[th] year of our summer camps initiative.
Our volunteer registration opened at the start of January, where we had almost a whopping 400 people apply to volunteer with us. Every volunteer was Garda-checked or were cleared by Access NI with the help of the fantastic Ulster GAA. After the teams are finalised, they had the opportunity to meet up within their camp teams throughout the year in preparation for camp in the summer and attend our National Training Day. Ulster GAA helped provide us with instructors that were able to take our volunteers through the necessary Child Protection Training prior to camp. The Red Cross provided First Aid Training for our volunteers at no extra cost to themselves.
We are proud to have developed a great management system, with LD2.com, that allows us to register volunteers and campettes in a professional way online, whilst allowing us to gather much needed information e.g. emergency contact details, medical information, allergies, campette collection and jersey size etc.
The 2019 jerseys were again beautifully designed by O’Neills Sports and every volunteer and campette receives a jersey for camp. These jerseys are hugely popular and also act as a great promotional tool as the girls wear them with pride throughout the year.
We are indebted to the countless people who give of their time, though our various partnerships, to ensure our volunteers are fully-prepared for camp season.
Ba mhaith linn buíochas ó chroí a ghabháil le Póilín, Antoine agus gach duine ag Gael Linn don tacaíocht a thug siad dúinn i bhfoirm urraíochta an bhliain seo.
Tá sé mar aidhm againn an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn níos mó i measc ár lucht tacaíochta. Bhí seans ag ár gcampettes scrúdú a dhéanamh le Fáinne Airgid nó suaitheantas Cúpla Focal a fháil.
Mhuscail an tsuim iontu agus rinne siad a ndicheall. Bhí 4 buaiteoirí ag gach campa. Tá súil againn go dtugann seo spreagadh do na cailíní atá ag freastail ar na campaí leis a gcuid Gaeilge a fhorbairt. Mar a deir an seanfhocail, ‘Is beatha teanga í a labhairt.’
Thank you so much to Gael Linn who kindly sponsored Cúpla Focal and Fáinne Airgid badges for our summer camps which we introduced to camp for the first time this year.
Promoting our native language amongst our campettes is of utmost importance to us and we hope that the girls enjoyed speaking as much Irish as they could in preparation for the Fáinne test. There were 4 winners at each camp and we hope this gave the girls some encouragement to continue to develop their Irish.
We were thrilled to once again join forces in 2019 with Team Hope. Team Hope are a fantastic organisation that delivers Christmas shoe boxes from Ireland to deserving children in Africa and Easter Europe. This year, our summer camps got fully behind our shoe box appeal and we managed to box up a huge 300 shoe boxes that were collected by Team Hope. Thank you for helping to create 300 smiles this Christmas!
This year our National Training Day was held on the 25th May 2019, in the Peter Froggatt Centre, Queens University, Belfast. We hosted over 300 volunteers where they got to engage with other volunteers from other camps and received training in the activities they would be delivering at camp.
Our Camps would not be possible without the hundreds of volunteers who give so graciously of their time. Our volunteers are the beating heart of
our Foundation and continue to represent Michaela Foundation, it’s ethos and values, in the most positive ways because they are just as passionate about it as we are.
We hope that each and every Campette had an amazing week at camp and thank you so much to their parents/guardians for their support as always. Each and every Campette received a Wallet Card which details the values that were transcribed from a poster Michaela made for her students in school and we hope you all use it to the best of your ability and are inspired by it daily.
Our camps also wouldn’t be possible without the support from our host venues. We cannot thank you all enough for your generosity and kindness shown towards us. You all play a vital role in allowing our campettes to live a life without limits! Each year we are so humbled by the support of the people and local businesses in each community that our camps are held. Míle buíochas to everyone who sponsored raffle prizes, wee treats throughout the week and to our fabulous guest speakers/ coaches at camp.
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Annual Report 2019
In just our second year of launching the Wings Awards, the interest in this initiative has continued to grow as we received outstanding nominations across all three age groups.
The Wings Awards are open to young people in Ireland from all communities, aged from 11-24. We hear so many ‘bad news’ stories about a small percentage of our youth and we thought we would like to turn this around and celebrate our young people who are motivators within their local community.
The awards on offer were split into three age groups;
• Age 11-13
• Age 14-16
• Age 17-24
Each Wings Award recipient receives a £250 cash bursary.
We were inundated with almost 60 applications and were completely blown away reading about the amazing young people we have in our communities! Each nominee had their own special gifts and talents which made it incredibly hard to choose our winners!
On Wednesday 27th March, we held our Wings Awards event night in St. Mary’s University College, Belfast with the outstanding Annette Kelly (Little Penny Thoughts) as host and Mickey Harte presenting the Awards to each recipient.
Every finalist in attendance was presented with a certificate and on hearing of their achievements, the audience was humbled and captivated in equal measure. Our nine bursary award winners are incredible, stand-out young people and we can’t wait to see where the future takes them!
Meet the McCallion Sisters…
Grace, Chloe and Seánaín McCallion were nominated by Catherine O’Hara at the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice. They inspire families who face challenges in life to keep on going by showing bravery and courage with a smile.
Together they are changing lives through fundraising initiatives to gift other children with a unique type of care. Grace, Chloe and Seánaín you are 3 amazing role models and such an inspiration to all of us! There’s no better friends than sisters!
Meet Cormac…
Cormac was nominated by his teacher, Celeste McEvoy. Cormac coordinated the Make Your Mark Campaign in South Down. He was also elected to represent 30,000 local young people as the Member of Youth Parliament for South Down.
Cormac has been volunteering with the Mid-Down MS Support group and is also embarking on a journey this summer to Cambodia for 3 weeks to teach English, plant trees and build homes in some of the poorest communities in the world. Cormac you blew us away with your determination and outstanding work as a member of Youth Parliament – you are going to be a future leader!
Meet Grace…
Grace was nominated by her Year Head, Paul Cairns. Grace continually sacrifices her time to work in the community she grew up. The programme she works on is called NUTS (Never Underestimate Teen Spirit).
She has worked on Friday evenings in the past as a volunteer on a programme called Flare and the Thursday evening programme she works on currently is called Pulse. She is an inspirational figure who through her work in school and community influence those around her.
Grace your commitment to volunteering in the community really inspired us and we can tell you are going to achieve great things in the future!
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Annual Report 2019
Following on from the successful launch of our Heart & Soul Retreats in 2018, we were delighted to continue delivering our faith and mental health retreat across the province in 2019.
We are over the moon to have delivered a total of almost 30 retreats throughout Ulster, engaging with hundreds of young people.
Our Heart & Soul Retreats have Faith & Mental Health at their core and we focus on the themes of Resilience, Self-Acceptance and Attitude of Gratitude.
We, at Michaela Foundation, were becoming increasingly aware of the everyday issues young people were having to deal with and we thought that delivering Faith & Mental Health Retreats in schools could help young people gain the tools they needed to face whatever challenges may come their way.
We were acutely aware that Faith and Mental Health development is more crucial than ever so we decided to speak to working psychologists, schools and others already delivering retreats to ensure we were on the right track with our content.
Our half-day retreats are filled with group work, games, activities and plenty of opportunity to discuss and reflect and are aimed at pupils in Years 10-12. The retreats are for smaller groups of no more than 30 pupils as we found the smaller group sizes allowed them to relax and get the full benefit of the content.
We are delighted to tell you that we are now accepting bookings for the new term September-December 2020!
Our Three Themes
Resilience
We look at challenges to the average teenager and how to cope with those challenges through various methods.
We discuss breaking down challenges into smaller, manageable goals.
We then look at prayer and how this can also help having someone to talk to when they need it most.
Self-acceptance
We are all well aware how young people are bombarded with messages on social media of how to look, act and how they have unattainable standards. We look at social media pros and cons and look at how social media is not always as it seems.
We discuss what qualities we can’t see in a profile picture. What qualities are we most proud of? We then talk about how God made us exactly how we are supposed to be - how we are made ‘perfectly imperfect’.
Attitude of Gratitude
We discuss all the small things we take for granted every day - having a ‘Good morning, God’ attitude versus, ‘Good God, it’s morning!’ attitude. Discuss how being thankful can have a positive impact on our mental health. They then write a letter to someone that has had the biggest positive impact on their life.
Student Feedback
“I have learned to be considerate to everyone because you don’t know what is happening in that person’s life.”
“I have learned to take things into a positive perspective and to not always think negatively.”
“The Heart & Soul Retreat is a positive and informative experience.”
“The retreat was fun, therapeutic, insightful, positive, relatable, for everyone, open and honest.”
“The Heart & Soul Retreat was a positive experience that talked about how to have a better self-image.”
Teacher Feedback
The Heart & Soul Retreat was pitched at the perfect level. The student were really engaged and the content was relevant. The retreat was a chance for students to reflect and soul search. It gave them an opportunity to spend time out of the classroom, allowing themselves to work on self-worth and self-love. Teacher from St. Patrick’s Academy, Lisburn
We look forward to working with more schools in 2020!
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Fundraisers
A selection of fundraisers throughout 2019…
Antrim Rose Chosen Charity
Orlágh McClinton has been a treasured volunteer for many years with Michaela Foundation, volunteering at Belfast camp and calling out to help at other camps during the summer. She has also volunteered and been appointed photographer at countless Michaela Foundation events throughout the years and we would be lost without her!
In 2019, Orlágh was announced as the Antrim Rose of Tralee. We were incredibly grateful that she chose Michaela Foundation as her chosen charity for the year and held a fundraiser in our name, raising £550, before she made the long trek to Tralee. Thank you to Orlágh for representing her county and Michaela Foundation in such a dignified and gracious manner.
Belfast Marathon
Sunday 5th May saw a sea of red MF vests descending upon the streets of Belfast as 50 of our MF volunteers and supporters participated in the Belfast Marathon to fundraise for Michaela Foundation. Maith sibh to everyone who took part or donated as we raised over £4000!! Wow!
Bridgeen’s Bake Sale
Our very own Bridgeen raised £100 for Michaela Foundation after holding a fundraiser at her school, St.Louise’s Comprehensive College, Belfast. Bridgeen was a campette at out Belfast camp and returned this year as a volunteer! Maith thú Bridgeen!
Clann na Banna
On Thursday 25th April, Michaela Foundation joined forces with Clann na Banna GAA Club, Banbridge for their annual Easter Camp held in St. Patrick’s College. Our volunteers delivered activities throughout the day for children ranging in age from 3 right up to 12. Everyone involved had an absolute ball and Clann na Banna very kindly made a donation to Michaela Foundation to thank us for our help.
Enniskillen 10k
To help Michaela Foundation continue their work, leaders from Enniskillen Camp took part in the Enniskillen 10K to raise vital funds to help support this cause that is very close to our hearts. On the 8th June, 11 girls braved the run and raised over £500 for the Foundation, a fantastic achievement!
Glencull Team Trek
The Glencull Camp Volunteer team hit the road to the border of Co. Fermanagh and Co. Cavan to take on the Cuilcagh Hikers Trail on 28th July 2019 as a sponsored climb. Such a gorgeous day and perfect weather to take in the stunning views! A few sore legs the next day but entirely worth it!
Ladies Night
On Tuesday 4th June, we were delighted to be invited to Corick House Hotel’s Summer Ladies Night as the beneficiary charity of the raffle proceeds. We had an amazing evening surrounded by inspiring ladies from local businesses and we were delighted to meet Michaela’s cousin, Melissa, who was there representing her own business, Sadie’s Secret Boutique+-.
The evening was all about celebrating and supporting other women...values very close to Michaela Foundation’s heart.
Laura & Alana’s Fundraiser
University Societies Football Tournament & Bake Sale
We were blown away when our Clones camp volunteers Laura & Alana held a fundraiser in their local bar McCagues raising a whopping £1057 and €465! All who attended had a brilliant night dancing away to the amazing band ‘One For The Road’. Thanks so much girls!
The St. Mary’s University College, Belfast hosted a Bake Sale over two days within the college and raised over £375!
On Wednesday 27th November, 3 universities came together to host a 5 a side football tournament at the PEC Pitches in aid of Michaela Foundation.
Ulster GAA Championship 2019
A whopping 18 teams entered the tournament and after 33 matches, there was only one winner - congratulations to ‘The Points’!
We here at Michaela Foundation were thrilled to have been chosen as one of the beneficiary charities of the Ulster GAA Championship 2019. The Michaela Foundation team turned out in style ready to sell the Official Match Programmes at each match we attended. Michaela Foundation received 10% of each programme that was sold.
Following the tournament, the presentation was held in the Hatfield House and a great time was had by all!
We would like to thank our MF Society members from Ulster University, St.Mary’s University College and Queen’s University for organising this wonderful event. Massive thank you to all at the Hatfield House, PEC and all the businesses that kindly donated towards the event. Go raibh míle maith agaibh!
MF Gala Ball
Wow! What an incredible evening we had! Our Gala Ball was definitely a memorable night filled with laughter, fun and dancing the night away to the Hootin Annies! Thank you to all who attended the Ball and celebrated the work MF has done throughout the year!
Walk for Nicole
We would once again like to thank our main sponsor Travel Ireland Coaches and all those who sponsored prizes for the event. We are so grateful for your support!
On Sunday 25th August, Nicole’s family and friends headed off to Kilbroney forest to trek up Slieve Martin in Rostrevor in memory of Nicole. We were over the moon when Nicole’s family decided to divide the proceeds from the walk between Michaela Foundation and Anam Cara. Nicole was a campette at our Castlewellan camp and she embodied everything that Michaela Foundation stands for.
We were delighted to be invited to walk alongside her friends and family on this very special day. Nicole’s family presented Michaela Foundation with £950 raised from the remembrance walk.
Nicole will remain in our hearts and prayers forever a a \ ~~a~~
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Annual Report 2019
Bits ‘n’ Pieces!
Clare’s New Role
In February 2019, Clare Cunningham took over the role of Operations Assistant at Michaela Foundation.
Clare very quickly became part of the Michaela Foundation Team and has been a fantastic addition to the MF Family. Clare throws herself into every task with gusto, enthusiasm and attention to detail and there is no job too big or too small, that Clare couldn’t handle. She has a kind, caring nature and is obviously incredibly passionate about the work Michaela Foundation does.
We could not do the work we do without Clare’s significant input and she plays a vital role in the continuous growth of Michaela Foundation. We could not be happier with her appointment to this role and we hope she will be with us for many years to come! Welcome to the team, Clare!
Cornerstone Catholic Youth Conference
On Saturday 23rd March, Michaela Foundation attended the Cornerstone Catholic Youth Conference in Portadown. We had a MF stall, held a workshop and took part in the panel discussion.
It was a great event to be part of and many thanks to Dermot and all at ADYC for inviting us. We thoroughly enjoyed engaging with other youth organisations whilst also educating others about the amazing work we do with young people!
Movement for Good Awards
Michaela Foundation has won a £1,000 award thanks to nominations from the public.
NI Social Media Awards 2019
We were delighted to be recognised as a finalist alongside other charities doing amazing work at the Northern Ireland Social Media Awards on Thursday 26th August.
It wasn’t our night but we would like to congratulate the winners of our category CFC Belfast.
We would like to thank all involved with the planning, organising and running of what was a fabulous night at the Northern Ireland Social Media Awards
Looking forward to next year!
We were nominated to win a boost as part of specialist insurer Ecclesiastical’s Movement for Good Awards, which is giving £1million to charities this summer.
This award money will go to purchasing resources for our Girls Summer Camps and will help us make a huge impact on the lives of the campettes & volunteers that will take part in all our camps across Ireland.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh!
St. Mary’s University College Placement Student – Nicole Keenan
Nicole came to work with us for her six week work placement as part of her degree at St. Mary’s University College, Belfast.
Nicole very quickly became an integral part of the team and was exceptional in the contribution she made of her time with us, especially with her work on the Wings Awards.
MF Club Shop at O’Neills
Michaela Foundation is thrilled to announce that we have partnered up with O’Neills to launch our very own MF Club Shop on their website at www.oneills.com.
MF supporters will be able to shop a limited edition selection of MF gear that is only available online. We hope to see everyone kitted out in their MF gear very soon!
Thank you Nicole and we wish you the very best in what????
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Annual Report 2019
thank you
I would like to conclude this report by thanking the many people who contribute and support the brilliant work Michaela Foundation continues to do. Whilst this foundation was borne from a tragic place, it is now the embodiment of hope, life and positivity that shines so much light into many people’s lives.
I am immensely proud of how Michaela Foundation has evolved over the years and our dedication to improve is equalled by our brilliant volunteers and supporters. You are the people who truly impact each other through your generosity of spirit and action of kindness. Thank you so much.
To our core partners at Ulster GAA, LD2 and O’Neill’s International Sports, thank you for your continued support and expertise through this journey. We are truly blessed to have great people to work alongside and are indebted to you support as we thrive to meet our objectives.
Here’s to a bigger and better 2020!
John McAreavey
Chairman, Michaela Foundation
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www.michaelafoundation.com
Unit 6, Banbridge Enterprise Centre, Scarva Road Industrial Estate, Banbridge, N.Ireland, BT32 3QD Email: enquiries@michaelafoundation.com Follow us: /themichaelafoundation @michaelafound[/michaela_foundation]
Registered as a charity by the Northern Ireland Charity Commission: NIC 105705