Fighting Ageism in Ireland
Resource type: News
The Silver Voice | [ View Original Source (opens in new window) ]
This is the first in a short series of posts recognizing the contribution of The Atlantic Philanthropies to the improvement of lives of older people in Ireland.
Charles ( Chuck) Feeney is an Irish American businessman who in 1982 set up the Atlantic Philanthropies. This is one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the world. It supports various social justice causes across the globe, including here in Ireland, where the beneficiaries range from the child focussed Barnardos to the Older & Bolder umbrella organization for social justice for seniors. In 2009 The Atlantic Philanthropies spent US$ 46.1 million in the Republic of Ireland.
The name Chuck Feeney may be familiar to Irish readers as he famously endows third level educational institutions in Ireland, most notably the University of Limerick with many millions of dollars. Less well know is the fact that The Atlantic Philanthropies is actively engaged in fighting ageism and has as core beliefs that older people have a right to a good quality of life, health and economic security. It funds ageing programmes in the United States of America as well in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland that challenge the limitations on full social participation by older people.
The Ageing Programme concentrates on matters of concern to older adults, such as poverty, gender, beliefs, health issues, geographic isolation. It aims to strengthen the voice of older people and the organizations that represent them so that they may have a positive impact on social policy.
Older & Bolder has a vision of Ireland that affirms the rights of all older people to live and die in dignity and with the respect of the community at large. The Atlantic Philanthropies continues through its generous donations to influence this agenda in Ireland.
Read more about The Atlantic Philanthropies on Wikipedia here .
Read more about The Atlantic Philanthropies on their own site here .
Older & Bolder website can be accessed here.
Older & Bolder is an Atlantic grantee.