An Post’s Christmas stamps help homeless people

This week An Post is sharing €156,000 among 13 charities across Ireland who provide services to homeless people and those living in emergency accommodation.

Last November the Company pledged to make a donation for every booklet of Christmas Stamps sold, as part of its ongoing support of the homeless which includes a dedicated address and mail collection service.

“Thanks to the great support of our customers in buying Christmas stamps to send cards, letters and parcels,  we are delighted to share this donation with so many hardworking charity teams doing essential work across Ireland,” said Debbie Byrne, An Post Retail Managing Director.    “Together with our customers we can improve the quality of life now and for generations to come, in a practical, meaningful way”, she added.

The homeless charities who applied to share the fund are:  DePaul,  COPE (Galway), Respond (Dublin),  Dublin Simon Community,  Merchants Quay Ireland,  Focus Ireland, Capuchin Day Centre, Peter McVerry Trust,, Good Shepherd Cork, St Vincent de Paul, Threshold, Salvation Army and Daisy House (Dublin).

Welcoming the donation from An Post,   Sharon Fitzpatrick, Head of Development at COPE Galway said: “This special donation couldn’t have come at a better time.  We’ll use it to run activities across all of our homeless services  – men’s and women’s hostel, Day Centre and Family Hub to develop skills, build confidence and support trauma recovery – a major issue among our homeless clients.  It was great to see the Salthill Diving Board on one of the Christmas stamps and thanks to everyone who supported us through An Post this Christmas”