Kind hearted Dundalk students go all out for Focus Ireland

Third year Digital Marketing and Public Relations students at Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) recently raised an impressive €2,323.30 for Focus Ireland by hosting a range of on-campus events across a two-day period.  

Focus Ireland, a leading homeless charity, is marking 40 years of dedicated work supporting people experiencing homelessness and preventing homelessness nationwide. The DkIT students came up with a variety of different events to help fundraise towards some of the charity’s remarkable work.

Over the past four decades, Focus Ireland has provided unwavering advocacy and guidance—particularly for young people facing homelessness.

“There are now over 16,000 people homeless, and it is truly heart breaking to see that well over 5,100 of these are children. We must always remember that behind these shocking statistics are real people that need our help to secure a place to call home,” says Lorraine Toner, Head of National Community Fundraising.

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The students organised eleven different events to engage the wider student community in supporting the cause. Activities ranged from a dance-off challenge and a pop-up thrift store to sweet-treat stations like a cupcake-decorating workshop and a chocolate-dipped strawberry stall.

It was important to the organising group that their events not only offered students a welcome break from the heavy November workload but also raised awareness about the rising issue of homelessness and how donations can make a meaningful difference.

One team ran a pop-up thrift shop where students donated unwanted clothing to be sold at discounted prices—giving students access to great pre-loved pieces while raising valuable funds for Focus Ireland.

“We wanted to host events that would be fun for the students attending, while also raising awareness of the issues of homelessness in Ireland and the work of Focus Ireland. Every donation makes a difference,” said student Kaylee Carolan, who was part of the pop-up thrift shop team.

To learn more about Focus Ireland and its work, visit focusireland.ie.