Leading the initiative is Belfast born Alan Dunlop, who is Chair of William Reid Ltd, a long-established shipping company operating in the port of Belfast.
Mr Dunlop says that even at this early stage, he has received a number of financial commitments from the business community, which is very encouraging.
Mr Dunlop said: ““I’m conscious we are marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of Northern Ireland, but instead of looking back, I want to look forward to the next 100 years. That means we must do all we can for our children and their children. We have to break age-old cycles of suspicion and animosities.
“I’m from a loyalist working class part of Belfast that was badly affected by paramilitarism. We have had a generation blighted by ruthless gangs and my involvement in this effort stems from a deep desire to develop a better tomorrow for kids.
“Children should grow up free of loyalist or republican, Catholic or Protestant labels. They are Northern Ireland’s builders of the future and we pin our hopes on them to take a broken community to a better place.”
The Chair of Goliath Trust, Dr Alasdair McDonnell, said: “I want to thank Alan for his initiative and commitment. I’m confident we can hit the fund-raising target. Funding of this magnitude is game-changing and will help us deliver much more to children in our twenty-four Belfast schools.
“We want to generate a can-do spirit in our kids and to give them the bit of additional help they need when it comes to literacy, numeracy and IT. We want to show them a glimpse of a future that doesn’t have sectarian or tribal division.”
Goliath Trust Chair, Dr Alasdair McDonnell, and fundraising supporter, Alan, Dunlop, at the launch of a fundraising drive to help local primary schools.
Advertisement
