Early Childhood Ireland announces launch of 2017 Pyjama Day Fund

Fund will benefit five charities working with children with additional needs

Early Childhood Ireland is delighted to announce the launch of the 2017 Pyjama Day Fund.

A total of five charities were selected to receive a portion of the funds raised on Pyjama Day earlier this year, which amounted to almost €200,000. The launch will be marked with a celebration at Kids Inc Montessori and Crèche in Foley Street, Dublin 1. Teresa Heeney, CEO Early Childhood Ireland, will attend the launch, along with Tina Roche, Chief Executive of The Community Foundation, and representatives from the five recipient charities:

• Irish Neonatal Health Alliance
• DeafHear.ie
• National Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation
• Children in Hospital Ireland
• Down Syndrome Ireland

Each of the charities support children with additional needs under the age of 6.

Pyjama Day, organised by Early Childhood Ireland, is now in its 14^th year. The annual event sees children sponsored to wear their pyjamas into crèche and preschool to raise money for children’s causes. This year 60,000 children from 1,300 crèches and preschools nationwide signed up for the event. The funds raised add to the €2.5 million already raised by Pyjama Day for children’s charities across Ireland.

Speaking ahead of the launch, Teresa Heeney, Early Childhood Ireland, commented, ‘We are delighted to announce the recipients of the funds raised by Pyjama Day this year. In the years since it was first held, Pyjama Day has raised a tremendous amount of money for charitable causes all across Ireland, and we would like to greatly thank all of our members who participated this year. We were thrilled to work with The Community Foundation to award the funds raised, and would like to congratulate all of the recipient charities.’

Tina Roche, The Community Foundation, added, ‘The Community Foundation would like to congratulate the grant recipients on receiving their funding. They are really exciting projects that will have significant impacts for the children and their families. It has been very rewarding working with Early Childhood Ireland on this great initiative and I would like to thank everyone who raised funds as part of Pyjama Day 2017 to make this all possible.’

For more information, please contact Grace Duffy on (01) 4040644 or 086 1448768.

Note to editors

Early Childhood Ireland is the largest organisation in the early years sector. It represents almost 3,800 childcare members, who support over 100,000 children and their families through preschool, afterschool, and full day-care provision nationwide.

The Community Foundation for Ireland is a philanthropic organisation which seeks just and progressive social change. The Foundation empowers people and organisations who want to make a difference through a model of philanthropy that is based on trust, effectiveness and impact. Last year, The Foundation and its donors distributed almost €6million to charitable causes in Ireland and overseas and reached the milestone of €30million in cumulative grants since its establishment in 2000.