By Business & Finance 
Wim Verbraeken, Chief Executive, KBC Bank Ireland with Pat McLoughlin, Chief Executive of The Alzheimer Society of Ireland
The new charity partnership, formed in June 2017, saw KBC exceed expectations and fundraising targets by 160%.
This new partnership has allowed The Alzheimer Society of Ireland (ASI) to further its delivery of day care, home care and family carer training alongside social clubs, mobile information units and cafés.
The money raised will be used by the staff at KBC to fund iPads across the 52-day care centres, to upgrade the ASI website and to run ASI mobile information service for one year.
More than 130 KBC staff have taken part in the fundraising activities for ASI. These included a 600-kilometre, non-stop Hub2Hub relay race visiting all KBC hubs across Ireland by 100 employees and a day-long street collection for the National Alzheimer’s Memory Ribbon Day on the 24 November. The second Hub2Hub will take place on the 14 June to 17 June and expects to be even longer.
KBC has made it easier to make a donation by establishing contactless donation docks across its retail hubs known as ‘Tap to Give’. €7 per ‘tap’ was donated on average.
Staff at KBC have also taken part in skills sharing with staff at the ASI, renovations of Kildare and Blackrock care centres, took part in games and storytelling and gave IT support.
The Director of Customer, Brand & Marketing at KBC Bank Ireland, Aidan Power, said: “I’m very proud of my colleagues for the enthusiasm and the support they have shown The Alzheimer Society since we announced our new charity partnership in 2017. Staff have biked, run and walked, baked, painted and collected to support the work of the charity. We’re passionate about what they do, those they care for and the difference they make to people’s lives. We want to help make it easier for the Alzheimer Society to support those who rely on their services through fundraising, more advanced technology, new ideas and professional skills support. I know there will be lots more to come from KBC staff in 2018, and we’re all looking forward to making this year another success for The Alzheimer Society of Ireland.”
The Chief Executive of The Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Pat McLoughlin, said: “On behalf of The Alzheimer Society, I’d like to say a big thank you to KBC for their support in raising this huge sum. We need this to be able to deliver our services to help support people with dementia and carers across the country, so it means a lot to us. In addition to engaging in fundraising drives for us, KBC staff have participated in a dementia awareness session, shared their skills and volunteered in our day centres. Their remarkable interest and unbounded energy is hugely welcome and much appreciated.”
