Google grants programme open to the local community
By Aimee Walsh
A COMMUNITY grants programme from Google Data Center is open for applications for people in Tallaght and Clondalkin.
The Google Data Center Community Grants Program supports eligible organisations and initiatives that directly impact the immediate community surrounding a Google data center, such as the one at Grange Castle in Clondalkin.
Google’s Data Center in Clondalkin
The categories available to apply under are: Education, Economic Opportunity, Bridging the Digital Divide, Sustainability, Health and Science and Arts and Culture.
Grant applications will be accepted for the data centre location from March 15 to April 30, 2021.
Andrew Hyland, Google Ireland, spoke to The Echo about the community grants programme: “They are only open to people in Clondalkin and Tallaght, so it is open for any local NGO’s, community organisations and any not-for-profit’s that do work in the community for the community.
“We have been running them for a number of years and we have managed to fund some brilliant projects in the community.
Andrew Hyland, Google Ireland
“One organisation was through the South Dublin County Partnership – they got a number of grants over the years and one was the Inspiring the Future Programme and we also followed that up with the Inspiring Women Programme. It’s a programme that works with all local schools and introduces young people in schools to the world of work and inspiring them to go on and do their leaving cert and third-level education, and the figures are brilliant.”
Some of the other organisations and projects that the community grants programme have supported are CEEDS (Clondalkin Centre for the Unemployed), Foróige and the Dublin West Education Centre.
“We supported Foróige in 2016, for a project which provided young people in Clondalkin and Tallaght the engineering skills to upcycle bikes. They also learned the STEM skills to build an app, which was quite exciting for them,” Andrew told The Echo.
“We supported CEEDS in 2017, giving €25,000 to refurbish a training centre so that people could learn digital skills, so it was all about creating a space for adults to learn new skills and help them to get jobs.”
As well as the Google Data Center Community Grants Programme, Google in Ireland provided a grant of €1 million in 2020 to help businesses, including local companies get back on their feet during Covid-19.
“I secured €100,000 of that through our philanthropic body, Google.org, that went to the South Dublin County Partnership. The CEO Larry has been in touch to say that the money is still being used for food aid locally and providing mental health services locally for those affected by Covid.”
People can get in contact about the grants or possibility of sponsoring local events at dublin-datacenter@google.com or if you wish to apply you can go to https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/locations/dublin/ and click on the ‘Community’ portal.
By subscribing to The Echo you are supporting your local newspaper Click Here: Echo Online.
