Dublin Bus has teamed up with students from the Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Dun Laoghaire to create a short film promoting the annual employee led Food Drive Appeal for Dublin’s Capuchin Day Centre. The film shows employees deliver food and goods valued at over €18,000 following the latest appeal. Since 2012, Dublin Bus employees have donated almost €70,000 worth of goods to the centre.

The film includes interviews with Brother Kevin Crowley, founding member of the Capuchin Day Centre and Dublin Bus Procurement Manager, Chris Quinlan who initially set up the appeal, when he recognised a person in the queue for the centre on a television programme. It struck Chris that anyone could be in the same situation and this encouraged him to do something to help. He created a team of eager volunteers from various departments and locations across the company and initiated the first successful drive.

Each year since 2012 the team of volunteers ask that Dublin Bus employees add one or more non-perishable goods to their shopping that they then donate to the food drive. Each department and depot collect different items from toothpaste to baby food to ensure that the best variety of food parcels can be donated to the centre.

The centre began its services to the homeless in 1969 and has strived through the years to provide food, shelter, clothing, and support those less fortunate. Latest figures show that the centre provides 250 breakfasts each day with 400 extra on a Wednesday and dinner service is rarely less than 480. Brother Kevin Crowley, has said that, “the greatest challenge both physically and financially is to help the increased number of people who need food parcels”. At present 2,000 people need food parcels each week to feed their families. This difficult but inevitable situation was enough to motivate the socially aware within Dublin Bus to run the Food Drive Appeal again.

Chris explained that, “the efforts of our colleagues throughout all departments within Dublin Bus have provided much needed tangible assistance to the Capuchin Day Centre. The many donations received each year have enabled us to supply additional provisions for use in the centre’s kitchen, or in the food parcels they prepare every week, and also to provide personal hygiene products for use in the shower facilities. The response from our colleagues has been overwhelming, and shows that there is still a strong sense of community at work within the city”.