Diabetes Ireland was one of 26 Irish and UK charities received a donation from The Hospital Saturday Fund at a special reception held in the Irish Embassy in London. In total, €110k was donated to the charities and organisations at the event. The event was hosted by Irish Deputy Head of Mission, Mr. Gerald Angley.

The grant to Diabetes Ireland was provided for the delivery of an information workshop for 110 principals, teachers and SNA’s on the management of Type 1 Diabetes pupils during school hours. The workshop, jointly organised by Diabetes Ireland and the Paediatric Diabetes Team in Cork University Hospital was held in Cork in October to help address the increasing demand and enquiries from local schools on how to manage children with Type 1 diabetes in their classroom and help reduce the fears and concerns of the teachers and Boards of Management.

Paul Jackson, Chief Executive of The Hospital Saturday Fund said: “We are delighted to continue the tradition of supporting many charities in both Ireland and the UK, many of which are less well-known. The Hospital Saturday Fund is honoured to support the efforts of such deserving charities and help in some way towards the exceptional, tireless work that they do.  We are delighted to have increased our grant making funds to £1.2/€1.4 million to over 300 charities in Ireland and the UK over the last 12 months.  This evening has been very special, as for the first time, we have been able to give grants to both Irish and British charities at the same reception”. “We are also extremely grateful to the Irish Embassy for hosting this reception tonight. Considering our heritage, it is hard to imagine a more appropriate venue”.

Mr Kieran O’Leary, CEO, Diabetes Ireland who accepted the cheque, said “I am delighted to accept this award on behalf of Diabetes Ireland. The Hospital Saturday Fund is a fantastic supporter of Diabetes Ireland continuing to support our various services and projects over a number of years. The recent workshop was over-subscribed which is a testament to the interest of local schools in ensuring they have the knowledge and understanding to support children with Type 1 diabetes during school hours”. Further information on about the Hospital Saturday Fund can be found at www.hospitalsaturdayfund.org