As corporate social responsibility (CSR) is high on our agenda, we now have a social and charity committee and through this, our employees can vote on the charities they wish to support in 2023.

The two themes to attract the most votes were the environment and child bereavement. Following on from this, our committee agreed on two very deserving charity partners for 2023; Friends of the Earth and Anam Cara.

Friends of the Earth

Friends of the Earth has been campaigning for people and the planet since 1971. The organisation pushes for change on causes such as protecting people’s local areas and making them more climate friendly, taking governments to court over projects that harm the environment and fighting for global environmental and social justice.

Collective action wins in 2022 include defeating the UK government’s plans to lift the ban on fracking, the adoption of climate action plans in councils across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the passing of the new Climate Change Act in Northern Ireland, one of the first climate laws in the world to specifically recognise the role that gender plays in climate justice and that gender equality is a key part of the transition to a fairer, sustainable society.

Anam Cara

Anam Cara supports parents after bereavement. The organisation was set up by bereaved parents who wanted to help others who have experienced the death of a child. The online resources include support videos, podcasts, downloads, publications and professional help.

Online remembrance

The organisation holds a national remembrance day every year and there is an online book of remembrance for parents and others to pay tribute to their child.

To support these causes, we will be hosting fundraising events throughout the year. We will also be including donations for winners of our prize draws at events and we’ll continue to donate money for every feedback form we receive.

Maeve Mullin, Finders Ireland’s director said: “It’s important to us that we are able to give back to our communities and fundraising for two such worthy causes is one way of doing that. We’re looking forward to coming up with some imaginative ways to raise money in the office in 2023 and hope that we inspire other people to give to these two organisations as well.”