Children’s charity Barretstown is to receive an additional $600,000 (€550,000) in funding thanks to its existing partnership with Applegreen, bringing the total committed donation from the Applegreen association to more than €1.5 million.
The extra funds will pay for 300 children with cancer or other serious illness and their families to experience a life-changing weekend family programme at the Barretstown residential campus in Co Kildare.
Last week, Applegreen Chief Executive Joe Barrett secured a $300,000 donation to Barretstown at the inaugural Blackstone Gives Back Challenge, as part of the Blackstone CEO Conference in New York. New York-based investment manager Blackstone is the main shareholder in Applegreen.
The Blackstone Gives Back Challenge had previously operated as an internal employee competition, but this year it was opened to Blackstone portfolio companies as a global grant competition for this first time. The competition allowed them to nominate charities to receive support from the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, and as part of the challenge, Blackstone portfolio companies initially pitched their individual charity partnerships, and a shortlist of the best projects was selected.
After Applegreen made the final three in the competition, Barrett made a short presentation to his fellow CEOs at the conference on the success of Applegreen’s partnership with Barretstown, and the impact of the additional funding should they win it.
Following a vote of the CEOs present, Applegreen came first and won the $300,000 donation from Blackstone. At the event, Barrett announced that Applegreen would match the Blackstone donation, thereby guaranteeing an additional $600,000 in funds for Barretstown.
Applegreen committed to a €1 million three-year partnership with Barretstown last year, and this new donation will bring an additional $600,0000 to the organisation.
Founded in 1994 by Hollywood actor Paul Newman, Barretstown offers free, specially designed camps and programmes for children and their families living with cancer and other serious illness – supported behind the scenes by 24-hour on site medical and nursing care.
Applegreen Chief Executive Joe Barrett said:
“We were thrilled to win the Blackstone Gives Back Challenge and the additional funds that this has generated for Barretstown are so welcome for this really deserving cause. Our employees are hugely engaged with Barretstown, raising money through activities such as fun runs, hikes, and marathons. Applegreen customers have also been highly generous since we launched the partnership last year. Members of our team volunteer to help at Barretstown and we also support the charity’s marketing activities. We will continue to work tirelessly to support Barretstown over the remaining 21 months of our partnership, both by continuing our own fund raising activities, and also by encouraging our customers to donate.”
Barretstown Chief Executive Dee Ahearn said:
“This is a tremendously generous donation from Applegreen and Blackstone, which will have a hugely significant positive impact on the lives of the families we serve. We are honoured and delighted to work with the amazing team in Applegreen, and this new commitment ensures that our three-year partnership with them will generate more than €1.5 million to help us continue our work. Demand for our therapeutic programmes has never been higher, and we must raise €9 million per year to meet the needs of over 22,000 children and family members, so these additional funds from Applegreen and Blackstone are hugely welcome.”
Blackstone Charitable Foundation Executive Director Maura Pally said:
“Blackstone is delighted to help Applegreen support the work of Barretstown. Joe Barrett’s compelling pitch for Barretstown persuaded his fellow CEOs at the inaugural Blackstone Gives Back Challenge for portfolio companies, and it was an honour for the Blackstone Charitable Foundation to present Applegreen with a $300,000 contribution for its charity partner Barretstown. To see Applegreen immediately match that donation with an additional $300,000 for Barretstown was truly amazing.”
Applegreen, which is one of Ireland’s leading retail brands, opened its first service station in Ballyfermot in 1992. It now operates from almost 200 locations in the Irish market, and also has a significant business overseas, with operations in Britain and the United States.
