Social Entrepreneurs Ireland
At Social Entrepreneurs Ireland we believe that Ireland’s social problems are not being solved quickly enough. We need to develop new ideas to tackle our biggest challenges.
Our mission is to harness the cumulative power of people to accelerate social change. We do this through seeking out people with unique insight and scalable ideas to social problems and offering them a deeper level of support to grow their impact, through our programmes, direct funding and incredible community of alumni, funders, and sector leaders.
Their Impact
Homelessness in Ireland is a rapidly growing crisis, especially for families and children. In March 2023, the number of children living in emergency accommodations surged to 3,472, compared to 749 in July 2014 (Department of Housing, Heritage and Local Government, 2023). Most homeless families are confined to private hotels and B&Bs, sharing cramped spaces with limited access to communal areas. These disruptions increase the risk of severe health problems, behavioral issues, and emotional distress. Social Entrepreneurs Ireland has supported Little Fitness since 2020 through a number of their programmes, most recently the Impact Programme 2023-2024. In 2022, Little Fitness partnered with independent researchers to evaluate their programme. The results were compelling: “Little Fitness provides an exemplary model for supporting and nurturing children experiencing homelessness, leading to improved mood and well-being, with indirect positive effects on parenting.”
Programme Growth:
2021: 5 programmes, 60 child participants
2022: 12 programmes, 250 child participants
2023: 20 programmes, 800 child participants