Immediate Release: 24 September 2013
Issued by The Wheel
ONLINE VIDEO COMPETITION LAUNCHED TO
HIGHLIGHT WORK OF IRISH CHARITIES & CLUBS
A national online video competition that aims to highlight the work of Irish charities, clubs and associations was launched in Dublin today. The competition gives Ireland’s 11,000 community and voluntary groups, clubs and associations a unique opportunity to showcase their work and attract new supporters through short online videos.
This innovative social media campaign was developed by The Wheel, a national network representing over 920 charities, supported by many leading charities including the Irish Cancer Society, Enable Ireland, Focus Ireland, Ability West, Acquired Brain Injury Ireland, Business in the Community Ireland, Carmichael Centre for Voluntary Groups, Disability Federation Ireland, Dóchas, Macra na Feirme, Mental Health Ireland, SpunOut.ie, Volunteer Ireland and others.
The public are encouraged to support their local charities, clubs and associations by visiting www.bettertogether.ie, finding groups on an interactive map, voting for their favourite videos or donating online. The 30 causes that attract the most votes will be shortlisted for three cash prizes of €1,000.
Commenting on the launch of the Better Together Campaign Deirdre Garvey, CEO of The Wheel said: “Charities, community and voluntary groups are facing their toughest challenge yet: not only is the demand for their services increasing, but their income levels are dropping. The Better Together campaign aims to turn the tide on this and strengthen local groups by showing the public the amazing work happening in their communities and what they can do to get involved,” said Ms Garvey.
The campaign will culminate with the Better Together Awards in Dublin Castle on 12 December, when the winners will be named. See www.bettertogether.ie for details.
Online video is currently the fastest growing medium on the Web, with more than 1billion people visiting Youtube every month and 100 hours of video being uploaded every minute. Over a third of Irish Web users watch online videos on a regular basis.
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For further information or to arrange an interview with Deirdre Garvey, CEO of The Wheel please contact: Gert Ackermann on M: 086 176 9287 or T: (01) 454 8727.
NOTES TO EDITOR
Charities, clubs and associations are invited to submit a video (two minutes or shorter) to www.bettertogether.ie by 8 November. The videos that attract the most public votes will be shortlisted and three prizes of €1,000. Organisations that submit a video can also accept donations via the website.
The public are encouraged to visit the website www.bettertogether.ie to find and connect with good causes in their area, watch the videos entered in the competition and to start making a difference in their community by simply voting for their favourite videos, making a donation or volunteer their time.
The Better Together campaign is endorsed by many of the leading household name charities, including; the Irish Cancer Society, Focus Ireland, Macea na Feirme, Mental Health Ireland and many more.
About The Wheel
The Wheel is a national organisation that represents and supports community, voluntary and charitable organisations in Ireland. Founded in 1999, we currently have over 900 members across Ireland, reflecting the enormous scope and scale of this vibrant and diverse sector. The Wheel exists to help change people’s lives for the better. We do this by helping community and voluntary organisations get things done, more efficiently and more effectively. As an independently governed, membership-based organisation, we represent our members' shared interests to Government and other decision-makers, and we promote better understanding of the vital work they do for people in Ireland.
* In 2009 there were at least 11,700 nonprofit organisations in Ireland, employing over 100,000 people, involving over 560,000 volunteers in their work and managing turnover of €5.75bn (INKEx, Irish Nonprofits: What do we know?’ A report by Irish Non-Profit Exchange, 2012).
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