Starcamp is known nationwide for its award-winning Summer camps, which take place in more than 250 locations across Ireland each year, and this year, for the first time, Starcamp has added over 20 Starcamp with Gala Retail Easter camps to its schedule.  As part of its annual, six-figure sponsorship agreement with Starcamp, Gala is providing over €10,000 worth of prizes for participating children and their schools each year and gifting every young person a co-branded bag and certificate of achievement.

Speaking about the sponsorship of Starcamp, Chief Executive of Gala Retail, Gary Desmond, comments: “Gala is delighted to announce our continued sponsorship of ‘Starcamp with Gala Retail’, supporting the delivery of the exceptional Starcamp children’s camps that take place across Ireland. The strength of Starcamp is in the confidence that it gives young people, and with a strong presence across towns and cities across the country, there’s a real synergy with our 220 Gala Group stores, who are at the heart of communities across the country.

“Now in our third year with Starcamp, we are thrilled to continue our support until at least 2025, helping to deliver fun and inclusive camps to almost 30,000 school children throughout Ireland.”

Speaking about the continued support from Gala Retail, Founder and Director of Starcamp Ireland, Aideen O’Grady said: “Gala Retail is an ideal partner for us. As an Irish-owned company with strong roots in communities across Ireland, we share similar values to Gala Retail, as well as a very similar footprint in terms of our locations. Over the past few years, the support of Gala Retail has enabled us to grow, invest in online content during the pandemic, create new content for our physical camps and bring new activities to children right across Ireland. 

“Central to our core ethos is building children’s self-esteem and confidence. With resilience as our key theme in 2023, the activities that we have developed at this year’s Starcamp with Gala Retail camps are designed to encourage this, benefitting young children as they develop and grow as individuals. Through speaking, acting and presenting fun activities at our camps this year, young people will develop their skills and confidence, without even realising it and all while having fun!”

‘Starcamp with Gala Retail’ Camps will be taking place over 250 locations, hosting almost 30,000 children. Easter Camps run from 3^rd – 6^th and 11^th – 14^th April, with summer camps running weekly from 3^rd July – 19^th August. For more information on Starcamp with Gala Retail locations and availability, visit www.starcamp.ie.

Pictured at the launch of Gala Retail’s three-year sponsorship announcement with Starcamp are: 

Gary Desmond, CEO of Gala Retail, and Aideen O’Grady, Founder, Starcamp (background) with children, Eva Jege, and siblings, Lewis and Carrie Linden.

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The summer of fun kicked off back in May with the ‘Summer Days’ promotion which saw Gala customers given the chance to win passes to some of Ireland’s most popular family attractions.

Gala customers who spent over €10 in participating stores were entered into a draw for the chance to win a family day out to Tayto Park, Fota Wildlife Park or Dublin Zoo this Summer. €30,000 of family pass prizes were given away, with a winner selected from every participating Gala store.

In June, Gala Retail customers had the opportunity to ‘Getaway with Gala’. Teaming up with IrelandHotels.com for the instore promotion, the Gala Getaways giveaway gave Gala shoppers spending over €10 in participating stores entry into a draw to win a €250 ‘Go Anywhere’ gift card to put towards a staycation at one of the hundreds of Irish hotels and guesthouses partnered with IrelandHotels.com.

A winner was picked from every participating Gala store, with a total of €40,000 worth of staycation gift vouchers awarded to lucky customers this Summer.

This summer also saw Gala enter its second year as headline sponsor of Starcamp Ireland, Ireland’s No. 1 children’s activity camp, supporting Starcamp in its delivery of activity camps all across the country and providing over €10,000 worth of prizes for participating children and their schools. Starcamp with Gala Retail Summer Camps have taken place in more than 250 locations across the country this summer, hosting almost 30,000 children.

As summer comes to a close, Gala is preparing to launch its autumn/winter marketing activations, in addition to continuing its support of charity partner, Special Olympics Ireland.

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This year sees leading Irish convenience retailer, Gala Retail, continue its sponsorship of Starcamp for a second year, supporting Starcamp in its delivery of activity camps all across the country and providing over €10,000 worth of prizes for participating children and their schools.

Starcamp is known nationwide for its award-winning Easter and Summer camps, which take place in more than 250 locations across Ireland each year. Earlier this year, Starcamp with Gala Retail launched the first ‘National Confidence Day’ for children in Ireland with a special ‘I Believe in Me’ themed online show, designed to help Irish children to develop their confidence and self-esteem through participation in a range of fun activities.

The focus on building confidence and self-belief continues in Summer Camps with its ‘Be Confident’ theme, engaging the children at each camp in a range of activities that will help them to build self-esteem and self-confidence through participation in the camps activities which include music, dance, drama, camp games, magic, arts & crafts, comedy, fun masterclasses and so much more!

Speaking about the sponsorship of Starcamp, Chief Executive of Gala Retail, Gary Desmond, comments: “Gala is proud to announce our continued sponsorship of ‘Starcamp with Gala Retail’ for a second year, supporting Starcamp in its delivery of both National Confidence Day earlier in the year and its annual Summer Camps taking place in communities across Ireland this summer.

“Both Gala Retail and Starcamp are household names in communities across Ireland and there is a great synergy in this partnership. We are thrilled to sponsor Starcamp and support its delivery of fun and inclusive activity camps for children across the country this Summer.”

Speaking about the upcoming Starcamp with Gala Retail Summer Camps, Founder and Director of Starcamp, Aideen O’Grady said: “Starcamp with Gala Retail cannot wait to kick off our Summer Camps for 2022! Earlier in the year we launched Ireland’s first ‘National Confidence Day’ with a free virtual show that was packed with activities to help children develop self-confidence and we are continuing that focus with our ‘Be Confident!’ theme for our Summer Camps.

“Our core ethos is about building children’s self-esteem and confidence and the activities that we run at the Summer Camps are designed to encourage this. The children are promoted to engage with others and put themselves out there, whether it’s speaking, acting or presenting – they are developing their skills and confidence, without even realising it and all while having fun!”

Starcamp with Gala Retail Summer Camps will be taking place over 250 locations this summer, hosting almost 30,000 children. For more information on Starcamp with Gala Retail and Summer Camp locations and availability, visit www.starcamp.ie.

Caption: Gary Desmond, Chief Executive of Gala Retail & Jennifer York Howard, Starcamp Team Leader, pictured with Olivia I Hekaire, aged 9 and Bobbi Osborne, aged 9

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Gala Retail recently teamed up with Starcamp to conduct a survey of more than 1,500 parents from across Ireland to assess the impact that Covid-19 and subsequent restrictions has had on Irish children of Primary School age.

The survey results revealed that ‘confidence’ ranked above ‘academic excellence’ and ‘sporting skills’ as the top trait that respondents wish for their children, with 43% of respondents rating confidence as the most desirable trait.

Almost 50% of respondents feel that their child has been less sociable since the introduction of restrictions and a staggering two thirds of children (65%) have become more reliant on devices and technology since the pandemic began.

91% of parents surveyed said that they felt that group activities such as drama, sport and music are ‘very important’ for their child’s development.

With the wellbeing of children in mind following the pandemic and lockdown restrictions of the last two years, Starcamp with Gala Retail has announced the launch of ‘National Confidence Day’ on 24^th March and a free online show for children, packed with activities to promote confidence.

Speaking about the results of the survey and the decision to launch National Confidence Day, founder & Director of Starcamp, Aideen O’Grady said: “Parents have spoken. The response to this survey indicates the level of concern for their children following the pandemic. Confidence is what they desire most for them and following a two-year period of restrictions of varying levels, it is unsurprising that this survey reveals the impact that these restrictions have had on their confidence and sociability. Almost all opportunities to develop confidence and social skills became unavailable at a crucial stage of their development.

“Confidence is a human right for every single child, bar none. It is the greatest building block for our next generation and we need to nurture it in them. Kids with confidence are more likely to try new things, think well of themselves, take pride in what they do and achieve and believe in themselves – invaluable gifts to take into adulthood. We don’t want the children of “covid years” to lose out.

“Therefore, the team at Starcamp, sponsored by Gala Retail, are launching ‘National Confidence Day’ in Ireland this 24th March. They have produced a very special, free, Starcamp with Gala Retail ‘Confidence Show’ available to stream online with some incredible content. It will be filled with fun, creative activities designed to help build confidence in kids, while having fun!”

CEO of Gala Retail, sponsor of Starcamp, Gary Desmond adds: “Gala Retail is proud to sponsor Starcamp and support the delivery of a free, fun, online workshop for Irish children on National Confidence Day. This is designed to encourage confidence and self-esteem. As the survey results demonstrate, confidence is something that we should be instilling in our children, particularly after the events of the last two years and this free online production aims to engage children, encouraging confidence and building self-esteem through activities that incorporate crafts, music and drama with lots of fun along the way. We hope that National Confidence Day becomes a day that is celebrated nationwide, by all.”

The Starcamp with Gala Retail Confidence Day Show is FREE for all and will be available to access online on 24^th March, visit https://starcamp.ie/confidence-day/ for more information.

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Gala Retail is the new commercial sponsor of Starcamp, committing to a two-year partnership that sees Gala named as the title sponsor. ‘Starcamp with Gala Retail’ camps and clubs, both on and offline, will run throughout the year, with Gala providing over €10,000 worth of prizes for participating children and their schools.

Starcamp is known nationwide for its award-winning Easter and Summer camps, which take place in more than 200 locations across Ireland each year. The past 12 months has seen Starcamp diversify in response to the Coronavirus pandemic, offering virtual clubs so children all over Ireland can continue to enjoy the learning, activities and fun that Starcamp is known for.

Speaking about the sponsorship, Chief Executive of Gala Retail, Gary Desmond, comments:

“Gala is thrilled to announce the launch of ‘Starcamp with Gala Retail’. Starcamp is well known throughout Ireland for its kids’ camps that run in more than 200 towns across the country each year, giving it a strong presence in these communities, much like the 170 Gala Retail stores that are at the heart of communities across the country.

“In the past, Gala Retail has shown its support for Irish schools and children, awarding large cash gifts through our ‘Gala Gifts for Schools’ initiative. Partnering with Starcamp is a natural progression for Gala as we support Starcamp in delivering its activities to thousands of school children throughout Ireland.

“It has been a particularly difficult year for school children being out of school and routine, and the ‘Starcamp with Gala Retail’ virtual events for St. Patrick’s Day and Easter offer some fun and entertainment with a range of activities that every family can take part in safely, from home. Gala Retail is proud to be a part of this exciting partnership that will also see Gala supporting virtual Starcamps during the Summer months.”

Founder and Director of Starcamp, Aideen O’Grady, is looking forward to the year ahead with Gala Retail as Starcamp’s title sponsor. Aideen adds:

“Gala Retail is an ideal partner for us. As an Irish-owned company with strong roots in communities across Ireland, there’s great synergy with Starcamp. Last year we launched our first virtual “at home” events for children and we’re thrilled to be continuing with this in 2021, while also seeing the return of our week long Summer camp events in towns across Ireland that will run from June through to August.

“We have so many fantastic activities planned for the on and offline camps this year, including arts, crafts, baking, singing, dancing and more; and with the support of Gala Retail, we’re offering some top-notch competition prizes for individuals and schools.

“We are so thrilled to welcome Gala Retail and its customers to the Starcamp family and we look forward to kicking off our first ‘Starcamp with Gala Retail’ events for St. Patrick’s Day and Easter!”

Check out Gala Retail’s social media channels to stay up to date with details on the ‘Starcamp with Gala Retail’ events planned for 2021.

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