Twenty cent of the cover price of every Irish Times newspaper sold today goes to the Simon Community, a charity which works to prevent and address homelessness in Ireland.
The Irish Times initiative is part of the Simon Community’s House of Cards appeal, which encourages businesses to make a donation to the charity instead of sending Christmas cards or gifts.
The newspaper has run adverts promoting the appeal for the past 14 years and will do so again in December.
Sam McGuinness, chief executive of Simon, said each year the appeal had helped the charity recruit new supporters and build relationships with the Irish business community.
“Our aim at Simon is to address the underlying causes of homelessness and support people in moving from the chaos of sleeping rough back to regaining their independence. We continue to do this with the critical help, generous support and leadership of The Irish Times and its readers,” he said.
Irish Times Ltd managing director Liam Kavanagh said the newspaper was delighted to announce the Simon Community would be the newspapers domestic charity partner for the next 12 months.
“A committee was set up earlier this year to look at how The Irish Times and our staff could get more involved with a charity. We see it as a great opportunity for both The Irish Times and the Simon Community,” he said.
The Simon Community provides support and services to between 4,500 and 5,000 individuals and families experiencing or at risk of homelessness each year.