02.09.2022
Funding from Benefact Trust to help parishes and dioceses support Ukrainian refugees
Details on how to apply coming soon.
The Church of Ireland has received £85,000 (currently equivalent to €99,000) to run a grants scheme on behalf of the Benefact Trust to support people from Ukraine arriving on the island of Ireland. This grant scheme will assist dioceses and parishes who are supporting Ukrainians in integrating into our society. The grants will be provided through the Representative Church Body with application information to be announced during September.
The Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, the Most Revd John McDowell, said: “On behalf of the Church of Ireland, I would wish to pass on our heartfelt thanks to Benefact Trust for the generous financial support they have provided to help Ukrainian refugees who have arrived here in Ireland. Our partnership with Benefact Trust is also a recognition that, with parishes which together cover the whole of the island, the Church of Ireland is well placed to identify local needs.”
The Trust is one of the largest grant–making charities in the UK and Ireland with the charitable objectives of promoting the Christian faith and other charitable causes; it has been operating since 1972 and its funds are largely derived from ownership of the Benefact Group – a specialist financial services organisation. The Trust has, to date, provided £1 million to help with the response to the humanitarian crisis in Eastern Europe and with resettlement in the UK and Ireland. The latest round of funding will also fund a grants scheme from the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference for similar projects and help the Irish Red Cross replicate its warehouse model with support services across several location, based on the project which they have been developing at a site in Dublin since April.
Lesley King–Lewis, Director of the Benefact Trust, remarked: “We’re overwhelmed by the level of support churches and charities are providing for Ukrainian evacuees, who are arriving with nothing but the clothes on their back, scared for their futures. We’re proud to partner with these organisations to make a real difference to the lives of children, individuals and families who have experienced such devastation.”