Sporting bodies should always be about more than kicking or hitting a ball, diving in, or saddling up. They are communities of people who can do great things when organised and motivated to do so.
For the last five years, Bohemians have completed a drive to send toys and Christmas presents to children in direct provision centres around the country.
In 2018 it was for 80 kids in a single centre in Clondalkin. In 2019 it had risen to 500 and this year they will have packed and prepared for Santa to make 3,000 children’s faces light up on Christmas morning in 42 centres in every corner of the country.
They do not do so alone.
There was the initial inspiration from the Bang Bang Café in Phibsboro. There are the donations from across their fan base, and the sorting and packing from an army of volunteers including management and players. There is the partnership of DHL to deliver the gifts once they are packed and ready, and there is the RDS which provides the space to bring it all together.
They spent €60,000 on new toys and vouchers this year and then Smyths Toys bumped up the amount with an additional donation.
“These are kids in a difficult circumstance, nobody wants to travel halfway across the world and live in a direct provision centre,” said Bohemians Chief Operating Officer Daniel Lambert. This initiative lets them realise that somebody is thinking of them and they are not alone.”
