Real estate investment firm Kennedy Wilson has teamed up with Social Entrepreneurs Ireland as a three-year sponsor for the SEI Impact Programme. 

The programme runs yearly and supports five organisations that champion social problems in Ireland. Each of the organisations receives training and mentorship in areas such as fundraising, governance and leadership, as well as €20,000 in funding. 

The winners were whittled down from 100 applicants, and were chosen based on their entrepreneurial solutions to social issues in Ireland, such as pollution, education and addiction. 

The five awardees are: 

• Dcode Dyslexia: Established by Mary Moran, a teacher with three-decades of experience in teaching children with dyslexia, she created a series of books that uses colour-coded phonics that can build neurological pathways in the brain to improve reading skills for people afflicted with dyslexia. 
• Hair Together: An innovative personal development programme, Hair Together provides invaluable training and experience in barbering and hairdressing to young people who have fallen through the cracks of mainstream education. 
• Jiminy Eco Toys: Faced with a deluge of plastic toys, Dublin mum Sharon Keilthy established Jiminy Eco Toys in 2018, aiming to provide an alternative to plastic with wooden and bio-plastic toys. Manufactured in Europe, its aim is to also cut down on the massive transport distances that are associated with the toy industry.
• The B!G Idea: An educational programme for transition year students, the B!G Idea connects students with industry experts for 16-week projects, which focus around social issues affecting young people. The organisation has 400 mentors from 256 companies, and has a waiting list of over 10,000 students.
• The Two Norries: A podcast focused on mental health, crime and addiction, it was set up by James Leonard and Timmy Long from Cork, who have both experienced issues with addiction and mental health issues. Guests feature a mix of personal testimony from those affected or industry professionals on the issues discussed, and the podcast had over 1 million downloads in the last year. 

SEI CEO Tim Griffiths said: “We’re delighted to introduce the new awardees, and to help them as they build on their potential and begin to shake up the traditional way of approaching problem solving.

In Association with

"We are excited to support these innovators on their journey, and look forward to seeing what comes next.”

Since its foundation in 2004, SEI has helped over 500 social entrepreneurs throughout the country through its impact programme and mentoring options. Notable examples of organisations to have come through the programme are Foodcloud, who donate surplus food from businesses to charities, AsIAm, Ireland's national autism charity, and Ó Cualann Cohousing Alliance, the affordable housing architectural group.

Kennedy Wilson owns, operates and invests in property across the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland, with a focus on multifamily and office buildings.

Photo: Peter Collins of Kennedy Wilson (right) and Tim Griffiths with with entrepreneurs, from left, Sharon Keilthy of Jiminy Eco Toys, Mary Moran of DcodeDyslexia, Kim Mackenzie-Doyle of The B!G Idea and Eileen McHugh of Hair Together. (Pic: Mark Stedman)