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  General

• Wednesday April 29th, 2020 @ 16:38

Richmond Park To Open As Food Bank

St Patrick's Athletic FC is delighted to announce, that in conjunction with Frontline Make Change and Dublin South City partnership, Richmond Park is to open as a food bank in order to provide food supplies to people in the local area.

Under the stewardship of St Patrick's Athletic Community Officer, David Morrissey, the club has joined forces with both organisations to put food packs together for those in need during the COVID 19 pandemic, with deliveries of supplies to take place from this week onwards.

The packs include items such as tinned food, cereal, pasta, rice and other everyday household items, while the deliveries will also serve to act as a way of checking on the welfare of people needing support and help during the current COVID 19 pandemic.

Deliveries will be made by volunteers from a variety of local organisations and we would like to acknowledge the large number St Patrick's Athletic supporters who have offered their services.

Speaking about the scheme, St Pat's Community Officer David Morrissey said:

"Through our involvement with the Kilmainham Inchicore Network, the club plays an active role in ensuring that the well-being of the Inchicore community is upheld.

Since the COVID 19 crisis began we have been in constant communication with other community groups in order to see how we as a football club could best serve the people of Inchicore at this time.

"When we were approached by Frontline and when it became clear during discussions that the provision of food parcels locally was a necessity, we were delighted to be able to help to make this a reality.

Richmond Park has unfortunately been closed for the past number of weeks, so as a club we thought, why wouldn't we use our facilities as a hub to ensure the provision of food to those in need locally.

It was a no brainer and we are delighted to be working alongside organisations that do brilliant work in Inchicore all year round."

St Patrick's Athletic are particularly issuing a call out to all supporters and those in the local community to make donations of various products which are in demand at this time, such as tinned food, pasta, rice and other essentials.

While we kindly receive a weekly supply from Food Cloud, in order to meet the demand that exists, more supplies are required.

Donations can be dropped at the archway beside 125 Emmet Road at Richmond Park between 12pm and 2pm on Saturdays or from 2pm to 4pm on Mondays and Tuesdays.

All donations by parties are to be made while following all social distancing and government guidelines, while arrangement will be made to ensure these protocols are being followed. Businesses and organisations interested in making a donation are encouraged to email david.morrissey@stpatsfc.com to express their interest.

Commenting on the link-up with the club, Stuart Fraser, Project Director of Frontline Make Change said:

"We provide services to those who need help overcoming addiction and wish to make change. We also support their families and loved ones that are affected by the individual's addiction. We provide a range of treatment interventions, aftercare support, counselling, holistic therapies, key working and more.

"COVID 19 has radically changed the way we work with our client with most interventions carried out over the phone or IT platforms. We have had to close our childcare service and move some aspects of the program online. At this present time, it is incredibly difficult for our clients who are struggling with addiction and already marginalised.

"We wanted to do more, and we knew due to the corona virus there would be people who would be cocooning, be self-isolating or vulnerable. So, we reached out to our friends in St Patrick's Athletic to see if they were interested in setting up a food bank to help the most vulnerable in our communities.

We were delighted when they agreed and provided their premises as a hub. So, in Partnership with St Pat's and Dublin South Area Partnership, we are delighted to set up the Inchicore food bank delivery service."

Frontline, who are also based on Emmet Road in Inchicore, are also seeking calls and information on people in the Inchicore community who may need support.

People wishing to pass on referrals of individuals or families who may need additional support can contact Frontline on 01 4736502 or email info@frontlinemc.ie.