This year, hundreds of our staff volunteered their time - clocking in at over 1,800 hours - to help deliver essential support to families and individuals across the island of Ireland. This Christmas, our staff volunteered across a number of organisations close to them. Staff volunteers from Energia Group packed Christmas hampers at The Welcome Organisation for those experiencing homelessness. Our volunteers also prepared meals to support local communities with our partner charity Food Cloud Kitchen, in Dublin.

Staff also helped at the SVP Shop in Omagh where four team members helped the SVP team get ready for the festive rush. At the Habitat ReStore Toy Store, volunteers sorted and cleaned donated toys so families can have gifts for children this Christmas. Teams also volunteered at the Cash for Kids Mission Christmas to sort/pack and unload toys across the warehouse for distribution.  

As part of our commitment to give back to our communities, each year there is a special focus around Christmas giving. For Christmas 2025, Energia Group is donating over €75,000 in total to charities across Antrim, Belfast, Omagh and Dublin.  

In Northern Ireland donations were made to each of the two Food banks in Antrim and Omagh, led by Energia Group employees Gillian McCaughtry, Director of Customer Experience, and Esther McKane, Residential CX Manager. These charities provide essential food support for families and individuals in need all year round. Throughout the month of December, we also saw donations across four Food Banks in South Belfast and Dublin.  

The South Belfast Food Bank, which has provided over a million meals to people in need since 2014 also received a donation from Tom Gillen, Chief Operating Officer at Energia Group. This funding will go a long way to helping them distribute tonnes of food to local people during the Christmas season. On visiting the Food Bank, Tom says “At Energia Group, we value giving back and supporting charities that make a real difference to people at this time of year. The South Belfast Food Bank provides a lifeline to families in crisis so it’s important they are supported in the work they do.”

Gary Ryan, Managing Director, Customer Solutions visited Cross Care in Dublin. Gary says, “the staff here go above and beyond and we are only too happy to help them each year in their support of people in need across Dublin.  I truly appreciate the chance to visit Cross Care each Christmas to see up front the positive impact they have on people in their community. It reminds us of our role in supporting those that might be experiencing challenges, not just at Christmas time, but throughout the year.” 

A further donation was given to Belfast Cathedral’s 49th Annual Black Santa Sit Out Appeal by William Steele, Director of Customer Solutions at Power NI. This annual charity event has become known as the Black Santa appeal because of the long, heavy black cloaks worn by participating clergy to protect them from the cold. The appeal this year will go towards raising much needed support to local charities across the province as well as a single overseas donation to support the work of Christian Aid in Burundi, demonstrating that the positive impacts these donations have on communities can be far reaching. 

The Black Santa appeal at St. Anne’s Cathedral in Dublin received a donation from Energia Group provided by Derek Scully, Head of Corporate Affairs. The money they raise through Sit Out appeals goes directly to a variety of charitable organisations and support services benefiting numerous communities. Speaking on the appeal, Derek said “We are proud to continue to support the annual Black Santa appeals in Dublin and Belfast, as part of our Christmas giving. The Black Santa Appeals are a feature of Christmas in both cities and as well as providing some seasonal cheer, the annual campaigns provide much needed funds for a wide range of local charities. Support for communities is core to our values as a company and the annual Black Santa Appeals deliver on this for some of the most vulnerable among us. We wish the Black Santa volunteers and the appeal every success in 2025”. 

Our annual Christmas giving supports the great work these charities do in providing essential services to families and individuals in need across the island of Ireland. We would like to take this opportunity to wish all those working hard at the charities, those using their services and everyone else a very Happy Christmas and New Year!