Vodafone charity to give Eur 500,000

Mobile giant Vodafone plans to give at least €500,000 to Irish charities through a corporate foundation launched yesterday by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern.

The Vodafone Ireland Foundation has committed an initial investment of €500,000 to fund the activities of Irish charities. It added that its parent group foundation could make additional funding available to the Irish foundation. The firm said the fund, which is the Irish branch of the Vodafone Group Foundation, will support non-profit organisations and work with environmental and conservation groups.

At the launch yesterday, Vodafone Ireland's chief executive, Mr Paul Donovan, said the group foundation was created to govern the multinational's community investment and charity activities. "I am delighted that we are now joining in this worthwhile initiative," he said.

He said that as a global company employing 1,700 workers in Ireland and 66,000 worldwide, society "rightly has high expectations of us as a company".

Mr Donovan told the gathering that the company was already involved in several initiatives. These included working with the National Council for the Blind on developing methods to make mobile communications more accessible to the visually impaired using handsets with built-in text-to-speech software.

Working with Volunteer Ireland, Vodafone uses its network to match volunteers with suitable placements. It also supports a blood donation initiative and a project in the Shannon Estuary to capture and transmit dolphin sounds via its mobile network.

The foundation will be run by a board that will evaluate projects seeking funding. The members include Mr Donovan, Vodafone chief technology officer, Mr Fergal Kelly; human resources director, Mr Jim Stockwell; staff member, Ms Elizabeth Ryan; and RTÉ director of communications, Ms Bride Rosney.

Yesterday, Mr Ahern said he was happy to see Vodafone actively demonstrating its corporate citizenship through the foundation. "The idea of corporate social responsibility has taken on a renewed importance as firms in Ireland and throughout the world are realising the importance of the relationships that exist between business, the environment and the community," Mr Ahern said.