Volunteers splash the colour around the Barnardos Centre

A SPLASH of colour has been brought to the Barnardos Centre in Millbrook Lawns in Tallaght, as a result of volunteer work by RSA Insurance and 123.ie staff and Creative Connections artists.

The volunteer work is being carried out this month and has already brought a touch of vibrancy to the exterior of the building, and follows on from a fundraiser by the insurance companies’ staff.

The fundraiser was held last year, and in October 2021 the staff then met with the project leader of Barnardos Millbrook Lawns, Mark Brennan, to ascertain what the service needed.

Louisa Tew from Barnardos said: “At the meeting they met with the project leader Mark Brennan and learned that there was a wish-list of items that needed to be done in the centre to make it look more welcoming to children and families, and for the staff that work there and the community too.

The area before it was painted

“RSA Insurance committed to funding some of this wish-list, which included getting a mural painted on the inside garden area to transform the garden space, paint the family room and transform the front of the centre at Millbrook by completing the colourful railings and entrance.”

The work is a collaborative project with RSA Insurance and 123.ie staff, artists from Creative Connections, centre staff and members of Barnardos’ fundraising team.

Ms Tew said the work will change “the physical landscape of the centre’s enclosing and playground area.

Volunteers at work spray-painting the railings

“This is an identified piece of work associated with the Social and Emotional Wellbeing strand of Barnardos’ work.”

A team of 16 RSA Insurance staff are volunteering their time for one day this week, and another day next week, to clean up the laneway adjacent to the centre and spray-paint the railings, at which point the project will be complete.