Over €81,000 has been allocated to Donegal to assist community groups delivering frontline services during the Covid-19 emergency.
Funding will be prioritised for organisations delivering direct services such as Meals on Wheels.
The €81,759 grant for Donegal will be offered to groups that are participating in the Government’s “Community Call” initiative which is being led by the local authority.
Local Authorities will be making contact with those groups in the very near future with further details and the need for funding assistance will be kept under review, according to the Department of Rural and Community Development.
The department’s overall COVID-19 Emergency Fund will total €2.5 million.
Minister Michael Ring said: “Local community and voluntary groups are supporting significant numbers of vulnerable people, many of whom are self-isolating, to get through this crisis. This Fund will help these groups to cover the costs of their work.
“This is a response to support immediate and emergency efforts by community and voluntary groups in assisting people locally. It is recognised that there are wider challenges and impacts facing the community and voluntary sector as a whole, but this initiative will help to provide support to community groups that are delivering services at the frontline.’’
Priority will be provided to organisations which incur costs on direct delivery of frontline services to people, such as Meals on Wheels and other similar activities. These individual grants will generally be modest in nature however it is expected that higher amounts will provided where the need is greatest.
Community Call is an unprecedented mobilisation of Government, Local Authority and voluntary resources to provide help to those in our communities that need it during this crisis.
There is a Community Call Forum in each county to coordinate and connect the wide range of services and supports that are available. A dedicated phone helpline is operational in every county and the national number, 0818 222 024, is also in operation. You can find your local helpline number on www.gov.ie/communitycall. In the week since Community Call was launched, over 5,000 calls have been received from members of the public.
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