The announcement is part of Nestlé’s community engagement programme which aims to make a real difference in enriching the communities within which it operates. Under the programme Nestlé Ireland staff nominate and vote for a charity to focus its supports. Since its inception, the community engagement programme has provided a range of business supports and mentoring programmes whilst also contributing over €8.5 million for charitable causes in Ireland in the past two decades.

Established in 1994 by Hollywood actor and philanthropist Paul Newman, Barretstown is Ireland’s largest and longest established provider of therapeutic camps and programmes which caters for the psychosocial needs of children and young adolescents diagnosed with cancer or other serious illnesses. It serves over 25,000 children and families annually and is projected to serve over 250,000 by the end of the decade.

Nestlé Ireland Country Manager Kieran Conroy said, “The Nestlé community engagement programme is central to our creating shared value model where we seek to make a real positive impact to the lives of people and communities we operate in. The collaboration is a partnership approach where we create a programme that examines the needs of the charity and where we bring our people with their in-depth business skills to help match those needs. This could range from people transferring skills, mentoring, volunteering as well as of course raising funds, and providing our products to offset the charity’s operational spend.”

Dee Ahearn, CEO Barretstown commented: “We are proud to have been chosen as Nestlé Ireland’s staff charity and to have an opportunity to work closely with the largest food and beverage company in the world that is wholly committed to making a positive impact on people and communities. Since our establishment over thirty years ago, we have worked tirelessly to support as many seriously ill children and families as possible. It is our ambition to ensure any child with a serious illness has the opportunity to participate in our life-changing programmes. Partnerships with organisations like Nestlé Ireland will play a hugely important role in supporting Barretstown to achieve this objective.”

Concluding, Mr. Conroy added that partnering with Barretstown is a magnificent opportunity for Nestlé to bring its community work to life in a tangible way that can provide many benefits for both Barretstown, and the team at Nestlé.

“It’s an exciting three-year partnership and we are so proud to be involved with an organisation which is making an incredible difference to the lives of seriously ill children and families every day. We look forward to working closely with Barretstown and playing a role, building awareness of its life-changing work,” he concludes.

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• Limited edition ‘I Love Barretstown’ bands were available to purchase in Applegreen stores nationwide from September 2^nd – 8^th for €2
• All proceeds and donations go directly to Barretstown
• Fundraising campaign builds on Applegreen’s commitment to raise €1 million in three-year Charitable Fund partnership
• Applegreen has been a supporter of Barretstown since 2023 as part of a three-year partnership, and is one of the largest contributors to the children’s 
  charity

Applegreen has repeated its nationwide fundraising campaign, ‘Bands for Barretstown’, through its Charitable Fund. The fundraising drive saw a variety of limited edition brightly coloured wrist bands go on sale in Applegreen stores nationwide from Monday, 2^nd of September to Sunday, 8^th of September.

This year’s fundraising campaign coincided with Childhood Cancer Awareness month and the bands will be available to purchase at till points in Applegreen stores nationwide for €2 with all proceeds going directly to Barretstown. Alternative means of donating to Barretstown also available throughout the week in Applegreen stores.

This year’s bands were designed by Jonathan Lennon, aged 11, alongside his two sisters and reflects the support and joy that Barretstown brings children and families who are experiencing childhood illness. Inspired by his time at the camp, Jonathan chose the phrase ‘I love Barretstown’ as a reflection of the true joy and happiness that his time at the Ballymore Eustace estate in Co. Kildare brought. Such was the impact of the design that it will now become the focal point for the nationwide fundraising campaign.

Jonathan and his family, including sisters Rebekah (13) and Cara (8), are from Dundalk, Co. Louth and have attended a number of Barretstown camps together. In 2019, at just six years old, Jonathan was diagnosed with large-cell anaplastic lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. Jonathan has attended five camps at Barretstown, including multiple family weekend residential camps, a family day camp and a brother and sister camp with Cara and Rebekah, as well as participating in online programmes. After several different types of chemotherapy, Jonathan has finished his treatment and is now in remission year five of five.

Clare Killeen, Group Head of ESG at Applegreen, Dee Ahearn CEO of Barretstown, Emily Finn, Corporate Fundraising Executive at Barretstown and Jennifer Zamparelli welcomed Jonathan and his family to Barretstown to celebrate the creation in person and mark the unveiling of the special fundraising initiative. All proceeds from the sales of the limited edition wrist bands will go to Barretstown to support over 22,000 campers this year alone, with projections showing Barretstown’s support reaching over 250,000 families by the end of the decade.

Founded in 1994 by Hollywood actor Paul Newman, Barretstown offers free and fun, specially designed therapeutic camps and programmes for children with cancer and other serious illness, supported behind the scenes by 24 hour onsite medical care. To date, Barretstown has helped over 125,000 seriously ill children and their families and have supported 13 different illness groups.

Speaking at the launch, Clare Killeen, Group Head of ESG at Applegreen said:

“We were thrilled to see the colourful design for this year’s Bands for Barretstown fundraiser come to life with Jonathan’s creation. His ‘I Love Barretstown’ bands capture the full meaning of Barretstown to so many children and parents going through a difficult period and shows the long-lasting joy that Barretstown’s work brings to so many. Our partnership with Barretstown is now in its second year and we have been delighted to be involved in a range of excellent fundraising drives for this incredible cause. The limited edition ‘I Love Barretstown’ bands will be available to purchase at each till in all of our stores nationwide and we can’t wait to see the return of this fantastic and successful campaign!”

Dee Ahearn, CEO, Barretstown commented: “This year’s campaign fell in Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, which is an important time to raise awareness of the challenges facing families when they have a child who is experiencing an illness as well as highlighting the supports available, including Barretstown. Our partnership with Applegreen is fundamental in raising awareness of our work and driving donations to ensure we can serve more children affected by cancer. The funds from this campaign will go directly to rebuilding the lives of children suffering from cancer, and I strongly encourage everyone to support Jonathan and his family by purchasing his band in Applegreen stores.”

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Applegreen  celebrates its birthday each year on 24/7 – this year with a special livestream show hosted by The 2 Johnnies on Wednesday, July 24^th . The Deal or More Deals show marked the brands birthday, with incredible one-day-only price drops on best-loved products including Burger King Whoppers and 100% Irish Chicken Fillet Rolls.

Across Applegreen stores nationwide, customers enjoyed great deals and discounts on top products including Breakfast Rolls for early risers and 100% Irish Chicken Fillet Rolls for lunchtime fillers on offer for just €2.47. One-of-a-kind Applegreen Birthday muffins will be available for just  24 cent, while customers can also grab a car wash for the reduced price of €2.47 on the day.

For the first time, Applegreen extended its birthday celebration offers to its Applegreen Electric app users, who could charge their cars for just 24.7 cent per kilowatt hour (kWh) on July 24^th in stores with electric charging stations nationwide.

As part of the brands birthday celebration, comedy duo and Applegreen ambassadors The 2 Johnnies hosted a one-of-a-kind livestream Deals or More Deals programme across their social media channels. Kicking off at Applegreen Birdhill, Co. Tipperary from 9am to 12pm, the duo welcomed a lineup of standout guests including comedian Owen Colgan and Enya Martin, as well as a performance from up-and-coming Irish singer Saibh Skelly.

In addition to the fun, the programme featured stellar competition prizes including Airfryers and Fuel Cards for viewers – a chance to bag a sweet deal on the day.

Giving back is at the core of Applegreen and as part of the store’s big birthday bash, Applegreen increased donations to Barretstown, their Charitable Fund partner, from the regular donation of 1 cent per purchase to 2 cents per transaction by customers on the day T’s & C’s applied. The 2 Johnnie’s Deals or More Deals viewers could donate to Barretstown through a donor phone line on the day.

Seamus Stapleton, Applegreen Commercial Director, commented on the occasion:

We were absolutely thrilled to celebrate our birthday with all our customers and colleagues. I love the joy and excitement that our birthday celebrations have brought over the past few years. It’s a very important day in our calendar as it helps to celebrate the fact that we are proudly open and serve our customers and communities on a 24/7 basis in the majority of our locations.  As an Irish brand embedded within our communities, we are delighted that we gave back in more ways than one with great offers in store, matched with increased donations to our charity partner Barretstown. 

Applegreen ambassadors, The 2 Johnnies, said:

“We were delighted to be involved in Applegreen’s birthday bash this year on July 24^th down at Applegreen Birdhill for our special livestream Deal or More Deals show. We had a great mix of guests on air to have the bit of craic and gave away special prizes every hour on the hour!”

Applegreen ambassadors The 2 Johnnies launched celebrations for Applegreen’s July 24^th birthday. Customers nationwide availed of great deals at Applegreen stores including 100% Irish Chicken Fillet Rolls for €2.47 and one-of-a-kind Applegreen Birthday muffins for 24 cents. The 2 Johnnies hosted a Deal or More Deals livestream show across their social media pages with a lineup of standout guests and great competition prizes for audiences to win.

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