Since 2017, JSA’s Dublin team has been proudly supporting St. Michael’s House, an Irish charity providing support and services to circa 2,300 children and adults with intellectual disabilities throughout 170 locations in the greater Dublin Area (figures from 1st August 2022).
Over the years, JSA employees have participated in volunteering days at St. Michael’s House (SMH) residential unit’s that provide community-based day services for service users. JSA team members have carried out duties such as external and internal painting, general upkeep, and maintenance of unit’s i.e., cleaning, hedge cutting and gardening.
Since JSA has started volunteering at SMH, we have most enjoyed getting the pleasure of interacting with some of the service users.
Here is a video which was taken during our volunteering day in 2019.
Due to Covid-19, unfortunately volunteering at a unit in person during 2020 was not possible, so instead, JSA supported a fundraising initiative run by SMH which encouraged JSA employees to take part in SMH virtual CSR & employee wellbeing challenge ahead of World Mental Health Day.
In August 2022, following a few years break, we were excited to return to St Michael’s House for the first time since the outset of the pandemic and participated in the charity’s Corporate Volunteer Programme for the fourth time. Our Dublin team worked tirelessly outdoors in the hot Dublin summer heat, carrying out duties such as gardening, painting and window cleaning, to help revive the charity’s Belcamp Day Centre’s external space and make it accessible to service users again. We are proud of the garden transformation and are delighted to have been given the opportunity to help make a difference at this day centre.
In August 2023, we once again took part in our annual volunteer day with SMH, this time at their Goatstown facility. The team painted the entire handrail for the main building and its much used ramp, filled a skip and cut back a huge area in the car park which now makes the car park look a lot tidier and bigger!
