Discrimination, protest and not staying silent

Sunday, July 19, 2020 at 9:13 am +1000

There is a lot going on in the world right now, although the protest and fight is not a new one. At Gym+Coffee we pride ourselves on being inclusive and advocating for a better world. We understand silence equates to complicity and now is the time to get loud. We have the benefit of a significant platform and it is our responsibility to use it for positive change and to amplify the voices that must be heard.

We’re doing our best to educate ourselves, listen, learn, be allies and take action wherever we can.

We stand in support of and solidarity with those protesting injustices abroad and, we believe it is important in taking a stance like this, that we address issues of discrimination closest to home.

For our part, we have partnered with Sanctuary Runners, an organisation based in Cork who are dedicated to bringing Irish residents, refugees, and asylum seekers together to run and socialise. Over the next 12 months, we will be donating over €6,000 worth of our gear to Sanctuary Runners around the country. We will also support them through events and by telling their story on our platform. Refugees and asylum seekers involved with Sanctuary Runners live within Ireland’s ‘Direct Provision’ system as they await approval of their asylum application.

The direct provision model in Ireland is widely seen as problematic and those housed within it are often physically and socially separated and prevented from experiencing Irish life + society.

We have contributed financial donations to Sport Against Racism Ireland and Nasc Ireland.

Below, we’ve compiled a resource list of primarily Irish organisations that combat racism + discrimination, and fight for justice + inclusivity. We know this list is not exhaustive but we hope it is a good place to start if you want to find out how you can do more, better.

We encourage you to donate what you can, if you can to these organisations but most of all, listen, learn and let us know if there are more resources we can share from our platform.

We can affect change if we work together.