Immediate release

  TEN HEROES SHORTLISTED FOR IRELAND'S CHARITY HERO AWARD

Tuesday, 29^th November 2011: With the nominations in and over 30,000 votes cast, the shortlist for Ireland's Charity Hero Award has been announced.  Part of the Better Together campaign, Ireland's Charity Hero Award celebrates the unsung heroes in our communities who have made an extraordinary contribution to good causes in a voluntary capacity.

The winner of the prestigious award will be announced at the Better Together Awards ceremony in Dublin on 1^st December. As well as been named Ireland's Charity Hero, the winner will receive €1,000 to donate to the cause of their choice.

 The ten people shortlisted for the award are:

•  John Quinn for his work with Pieta House
•  Ronnie Whelan for his work with Myasthenia Gravis Association
•  Lorraine Dempsey for her work for Special Needs Parents Association
•  Vicky Barham for her work with West Cork Animal Welfare Group
•  John Carmody for his work for ARAN (Animal Rights Action Network)
•  Eamon Cleere for his work with Enable Ireland Kilkenny
•  Ian O'Flynne's for his work for Fionn's Fund
•  Margaret Twohig for her work for CORK DAWG
•  Siobhán Carroll for her work for ACT for Meningitis
•  Nicholas Power for her work for Lets do it for Ben.com

 (To read their stories visit http://www.bettertogether.ie/better-together-2011-shortlists and click on Charity Hero Award)

 Ireland's Charity Hero Award is part of Better Together, a national campaign developed by The Wheel, the national representative body for community and voluntary groups, to build support for hundreds of charities and local community and voluntary groups across the country. Since the campaign's launch just last month, the campaign’s  website has been visited by nearly 200,000 people (1,181,626 page views).

With charities and local community groups competing for a combined prize fund of €20,000, the campaign has attracted a huge response from the not-for-profit sector, who were invited to submit online videos to the competition in a bid to tell their story, gain more supporters and potentially win a cash prize to further support their work.

A panel of judges will now cast their deciding votes and the winner will be announced at the Better Together Awards ceremony on Thursday, 1 December 2011.

The campaign is supported by the Newman’s Own Foundation as part of the Street Level Philanthropy Project and the campaign is endorsed by many of the leading household name charities, including; the Irish Hospice Foundation, Irish Heart Foundation, Focus Ireland, Macra na Feirme, ISPCA and many more.

Other campaign sponsors include; The European Commission/ European Year of Volunteering 2011, Irish Daily Mail, CRAOL, Irish Blood Transfusion Service, The Community Foundation of Ireland, ESRI Ireland, Sponsor.ie and Zozzy TV.

 ENDS

 For reference or interviews, please contact Gert Ackermann, Communications Officer, The Wheel

Tel: 01-4548727 or 086 1769287.

 Notes to Editor:

About The Wheel

The Wheel is the national representative and support body for community, voluntary and charity organisations. We are a representative organisation promoting both our members’ and the wider sector’s interests. We also provide a wide range of information and support services, advice and training to individuals and organisations involved in community and voluntary activity.

 Our mission is to strengthen the community and voluntary sector, focusing on organisations that seek to create a better world. We advocate for an environment that supports voluntary activity, and work to help this flourish by supporting organisations and by representing their shared interests.