16 December 2020
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Employees at Apple’s Cork campus have been putting the final touches on a variety concert which will be broadcast to residents and staff at St. Luke’s Nursing Home and Marymount University Hospice. The one hour concert of live and pre-recorded material will see volunteers bring Christmas cheer through song, instrumental performances, dance routines and poetry recitals.
Paula McGovern, Head of Communications and Fundraising Marymount Hospice Marymount Hospice with musicians Deirdre Mullan and Cathal Murphy from Apple. who are performing at a virtual variety concert for the residents and staff at Marymount and St Luke’s Nursing Home.
Picture Darragh Kane
The concert, which takes place on Thursday December 17th, will be streamed live enabling the staff at St. Luke’s and Marymount Hospice to broadcast the concert through their own in-house TV screens.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in March of this year, nursing homes, hospices and care facilities have faced challenges in terms of providing live entertainment for their residents and staff. Inspired by other examples of virtual concerts over the last few months, the Apple volunteers came together to prepare a series of uplifting performances which they hope will bring some of the magic of Christmas to those settings this December.
Cathy Kearney, Apple’s Vice President of European Operations, said: “In a year that has been incredibly challenging, we’re proud that our teams have found creative ways to offer support and stay connected with the community we’re a part of here in Cork.”
Celine O’Shea, St Luke’s Nursing Home, said “This has been a difficult year for the residents and it is events like this that really lift their spirits. We are so grateful for Apple to be providing music, song and a sense of connection with residents during this very special time despite it being a little different this year.“
Paula McGovern, Head of Fundraising and Communications at Marymount Hospice said “We are delighted to work with Apple in bringing some festive cheer to Marymount residents and staff. 2020 has been a year like no other. Streaming a virtual variety concert brings much-needed joy into our facility and we are grateful for the support of Apple and all staff who are involved.”
This is just one of the many initiatives Apple employees have undertaken to support local Cork charities and fundraising initiatives this Christmas. Cork Penny Dinners, Good Shepherd Cork, Team Hope and Focus Ireland have all benefited from the generosity of Apple employees throughout December. This month also saw Apple employees continuing to take part in Age Action’s Getting Started programme. This is a digital literacy training programme which has seen Apple employees in Cork run up over 200 total volunteer hours in 2020, with the aim of helping elderly people stay connected with their families through the use of technology.
Since 2015, Apple’s Giving programme in Cork has supported more than 400 registered charities in Ireland. 43% of all Apple employees based in Cork have participated in volunteering activities throughout 2020, building on the work of the company’s worldwide Community Investment team and Employee Giving programme, which facilitate hundreds of millions in donations to local, national and international organisations.