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This is Ireland

The Irish Red Cross is seeking nominations for the super humans in our midst.

The Irish Red Cross Humanitarian Awards 2021 winners. Pictured from left to right Catherine Coreless, Aine Martin, Tammy Darcy, Chairman of Irish Red Cross Pat Carey, Jean O’Brien, Ellen Conway, Saoirse Swan, Michelle Hennessey and Maria Delaney.
Photo: Tony Gavi
The Irish Red Cross Humanitarian Awards 2021 winners. Pictured from left to right Catherine Coreless, Aine Martin, Tammy Darcy, Chairman of Irish Red Cross Pat Carey, Jean O’Brien, Ellen Conway, Saoirse Swan, Michelle Hennessey and Maria Delaney. Photo: Tony Gavi

It has been said that “the power of youth is the common wealth of the entire world.” The Irish Red Cross emphatically agrees with this view and recognises that the vision and actions of our young people are critical to finding the solutions to tomorrow’s challenges.

The Irish Red Cross Awards are here to shine a spotlight on acts of kindness. They provide a rare opportunity for us all to publicly recognise the extraordinary commitment of people in large and small communities across Ireland who selflessly support those who most need of our help.

With these thoughts in mind, the Irish Red Cross is currently seeking nominations for the 2022 Humanitarian Awards in five categories including: Young Humanitarian of the Year, Humanitarian of the Year, Corporate Impact, Innovation for Change and Journalism Excellence.

The 2022 Award winners will have demonstrated true leadership over the past year - and a genuine spirit of goodwill, volunteerism, philanthropy and/or humanitarianism in the benefit of others.

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Do you know any motivated young people who have gone out of their way to support those in need? Now is your chance to give them the recognition they deserve by submitting a nomination to the Young Humanitarian award as part of Irish Red Cross Awards.

As we look back over the past 12 months, there have been many global events to which Irish society has so admirably responded both at home and abroad.

Our aim is to highlight the efforts of those who have given a voice to humanitarian issues this year as well as recognise those who have had an impact on the lives of others. This is a unique opportunity for us all to step back and recognise the incredible acts of kindness that are out there, everywhere, in all communities in Ireland.

The 2022 Irish Red Cross Award Nominations are now open. If you, or someone you know, has committed to helping others in your community – we want to hear from you.

Nominations can be submitted by visiting us at www.irchumanitarianawards.ie

The Closing date for nomination submissions is March 3. Winners will be honoured at a live event on the 13th of April.

For more information please visit: irchumanitarianawards.ie

Previous Winners of the Young Humanitarian Award – Jay Bobinac & Saoi O’Connor

2020 Award Winner Jay Bobinac was homeless when he first arrived at The Lighthouse Café. Soon he was attending the charity’s outreach teams and over time started to volunteer himself – all while still living on the streets.

Now Jay is the manager of the soup kitchen at The Lighthouse, where he first went for help. He is currently completing his masters in Social Care and has encouraged hundreds of homeless and vulnerable people in their own progress. Jay has also organised several fundraisers and raised thousands of euro for the homeless outreach work. He was directly involved in enrolling twelve homeless people in educational courses and also started weekly outreach teams to connect with homeless people in Dublin city centre.

2021 Winner Saoi O’Conner has been committed since 2019 to the fight to save the planet from the climate crisis by bringing forward the voices of the most affected people and areas. Saoi worked with the Fridays for Future movement internationally to bring activist refugees out of Afghanistan to safety in Germany and was the founder of Fridays for Future Ireland in January 2019 when they began climate striking outside Cork city hall. Since then Saoi has organised global youth strikes, spoken all over the country, lobbied politicians and woken us all up to the crisis we are facing.