Huawei Ireland has donated a further €40,000 to Cliona's Foundation, the Limerick-based charity that provides financial assistance to families with seriously sick children.

This is the second year that Huawei has made a significant financial contribution to the charity as part of its ongoing commitment to supporting local communities and fostering positive change across Ireland.

The funding will aid Cliona's Foundation's various activities and will make a significant impact on the organisation’s work to help families to reduce the non-medical costs of caring for their seriously ill child.

Since its launch, Cliona’s Foundation has raised more than €4.5m and has helped more than 1,500 families across 31 counties.

“We, at Huawei, are pleased to continue to support this small charity, which has no large fundraising machine, to help it raise much-needed funds to make a positive impact on the lives of those in need," said Calvin Lan, CEO of Huawei Ireland.

"Through our continued sponsorship, we hope to raise awareness of the incredible work carried out by Cliona’s Foundation and we encourage others to join us in supporting their vital services. 

"Huawei’s funding shows our dedication to supporting causes that matter and, by doing so, building a stronger, more caring community. The Foundation carries out such great work and is deserving of all the help it can get.”

With funding from Huawei, Cliona's has been able to fund Dara & Co, an AI-powered wellbeing platform focused on providing personalised mental health and emotional support, by offering expert-led resources tailored to clients’ particular needs.

Dara & Co will be collaborating with Clíona’s Foundation to create a tailor-made content hub focusing specifically on parental wellbeing.

This hub, which will be available on the Cliona’s Foundation website will provide accessible, compassionate support to help parents manage the challenges that come with caring for a seriously sick child.

Cliona’s co-founder and CEO Brendan Ring said: “So many families with sick children have experienced, and continue to experience, significant non-medical costs of caring for a child with a life-limiting condition.

"We are incredibly grateful to Huawei for their support again this year ensuring that Cliona’s Foundation can continue to help families who need assistance.

"Families need help, in fact they need support more than ever and we, at Cliona’s Foundation, are proud to play our part in helping families in need. We are also looking forward to seeing how impactful the specific Dara & Co content will be on parents going through a very tough time.”

Naomh McElhatton, CEO of Dara & Co, said: “We are truly honoured to partner with Cliona’s Foundation, with the support of Huawei, to create specialised wellbeing resources for parents navigating the overwhelming journey of caring for a seriously sick child.

"Through this collaboration, we are able to provide dedicated, compassionate content focused on parental wellbeing, helping parents manage their mental and emotional health during incredibly challenging times.

"Together, we’re building a foundation of resilience and hope for families who need it most, ensuring they have access to meaningful support when they need it.”

A survey conducted by Cliona’s Foundation shows how families with sick children are often disproportionately affected by situations out of their control, such as increasing living costs.

Cliona’s survey found that in 70% of families who received financial help, at least one parent must give up their job to care for their sick child leaving them struggling to cope.

Studies have highlighted that a family will need between €10,000 and €15,000 a year to cover various non-medical costs while their child is ill.

Photo: (l-r) Calvin Lan, CEO Huawei Ireland; Naomh McElhatton, CEO Dara & Co and Brendan Ring, co-founder and CEO of Cliona's Foundation. (Pic: Supplied)