November 2023 BC

“There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.” ~ Desmond Tutu 

It can be very easy to keep doing what we have always done, especially in times of great need when the work we do can provide immediate relief to those we help. But what happens when we take a step back and look at the wider picture? Is the work we are doing really having a long term impact? And if it isn’t, who are the leaders brave enough to make the difficult decision to change? And how do you even start! 

We were delighted to speak with two leaders in their fields who are re-designing how they serve the people they work with, both from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

This Breakfast Club was our first collaboration with our sister project iCommunity.

iCommunity is a collaborative all-island project and a joint initiative of NICVA (Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action) and The Wheel.  It is where nonprofits and social enterprises in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland come together to collaborate, share practice and experience, and learn from each other to address shared challenges. 

What’s really interesting is that both of our speakers are, independently, aiming for the same goal, they envisage a society without foodbanks. They are both on a massive journey of change and they have huge learning to share. 

For example: 

• At what point do we need to step back and examine what we are doing and the wider impact of our work? 

• How do we secure buy-in from the people involved, the decision makers and stakeholders? 

• How do we communicate the changes we are making to our service users and the general public? 

• How do we manage any sensitivities in moves from charity to justice? 

We had two great speakers. Both of whom work for organisations that run dedicated food banks, and both of whom are on a journey to end the need for food banks, one in the Republic and one in the North  

Our Speakers 

Yvonne Fleming is a senior manager in Crosscare, the social support agency of the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin. With over 30 years’ experience in the not-for-profit sector, of which 20 years was in management roles, Yvonne has worked in the areas of homelessness, migrant issues, youth/community work, among other areas. Yvonne has a strong commitment to both excellent direct service and campaigning for societal change. Yvonne has worked mostly in urban and rural settings in Ireland but also with Concern in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Yvonne has qualifications in ccommunication’s, community and youth work and non-profit management. 

Jonny Currie is Northern Ireland Lead for The Trussell Trust, an anti-poverty charity that supports a nationwide network of food banks to provide emergency food and support to people locked in poverty, and campaigns for change to end the need for food banks in the UK. He has worked in the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland for over twenty years. Previously he was Community Development Director at East Belfast Community Development Agency. Jonny is also Joint-chair of YMCA Ireland and an independent member of Ards and North Down Policing and Community Safety Partnership. 

There was such great learning from the event thank you to all who participated. Some of our key takeaways were: 

• Recognizing colleagues North and South are facing similar issues and encouraging people to reach out to counterparts to see if there are any areas for potential collaboration, or simple connecting 

• The importance of an organisations values in driving our work.  
• Ensuring that service users are front and centre in all of the services we provide and that their voices are heard properly