Initiatives and Sponsorships

Over the last three decades, we have undertaken a number of partnerships with organisations, teams and individuals in the hope that we can give something back to communities and employees for all their support and loyalty throughout the years.

Our current initiatives and sponsorships include:

Barretstown

Datapac has worked with Barretstown, the charity for children suffering from serious illness, to upgrade its ICT infrastructure on its 500 acre facility in Ballymore Eustace, Co. Kildare.

Barretstown which was set up in 1994 runs residential camps throughout the year for children and families living with serious illness, an expanding hospital outreach programme and a bereavement programme for families dealing with the loss of a child. The charity has welcomed more than 30,000 campers from across Ireland and Europe since opening.

Datapac was chosen as the technology advisor and partner for Barretstown, with responsibility for the upgrading of its ICT infrastructure which included, existing networks, servers, business continuity systems, PCs, laptops and the introduction of a high-speed broadband service for the first time.

Commenting on the project Dee Ahearn, CEO, Barretstown, said, “At Barretstown, we rebuild the lives of children, and their families, affected by childhood cancer and other serious illnesses. We serve 5,000 campers a year and have 1200 volunteers each year. Communication is crucially important and Datapac has helped us to streamline, improve and ensure efficiency. I’d like to thank the team for providing us with the highest levels of advice and support at every step of the way.”

Wexford Chamber

Datapac has partnered with Wexford Chamber to deliver state-of-the-art facilities to Wexford Business Community. Datapac Business Resource Centre located in the new Wexford Chamber’s premises offers a collaborative space to facilitate all meeting and training needs of local businesses.

“Datapac is delighted to play a catalyst role in supporting the transformation of the facilities for Wexford Chamber and its members, many of whom are long-standing Datapac customers,” said Karen O’Connor, general manager services delivery, Datapac. “It was a fantastic opportunity for us to give something back to the business community in Wexford where we began, and to support a chamber that is proactive and progressive and of which we have been members for many years.”

Madeleine Quirke, CEO, Wexford Chamber, commented: “The addition of the Datapac Resource Centre will enable Wexford Chamber to offer state-of-the-art services to its Members in terms of telephone services, video conferencing, wireless connectivity, print services and collaborative working.”

Special Olympics Ireland

Datapac renewed its sponsorship of Special Olympics Ireland in 2010 for a further five years. Datapac will provide the all-Ireland logistics and warehousing requirement of Special Olympics Ireland’s year round sports, training and competition programme.

Datapac will work closely with both staff members of Special Olympics Ireland and the volunteer network to coordinate the warehousing and delivery of all Special Olympic Ireland’s inventory. This includes items such as sports and games equipment, promotional products and storage of various operational items required on an ad-hoc basis for all local, regional and national events.

In the past Datapac’s sponsorship also extended to coordinating the volunteer depot during the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games. More recently Datapac supported the 2006 Special Olympics Ireland Games in Belfast as well as the 2010 Special Olympics Ireland Games in Limerick where it operated a seven day a week logistics centre over a five week period and distributed over 345,000 items.

Matt English, CEO, Special Olympics Ireland, said, “We rely on the goodwill and generosities of Irish businesses to help us positively change the lives of people with disabilities in this country. We’re thrilled that Datapac continues to be part of the Special Olympics Ireland family. For almost a decade, it has shown a commitment and passion for our organisation that is rarely seen in corporate sponsorship.”

Patrick Kickham, director, Datapac, said, “It’s with great pride that we announce our ongoing relationship with Special Olympics Ireland to 2015. Over the past nine years, I’ve witnessed the life changing impact of the Special Olympics on the lives of the athletes and their families. At Datapac, we’re grateful for the opportunity to use our facilities, financial resources and expertise to contribute in whatever way we can to such an essential and worthy organisation.”

Wexford Festival Opera

Datapac renewed its sponsorship of The Wexford Festival Trust (WFT) which encompasses Wexford Opera House and Wexford Festival Opera.  Under the terms of the sponsorship, Datapac is the official IT and Communications Partner to WFT and provides information technology and communications solutions as well as maintenance support.

“As one of the leading opera festivals and opera houses in the world, the Wexford Opera Festival is synonymous with the very best in cultural and performing arts, which perfectly complements our brands’ premium values”, explains Dan Kickham, CEO, Datapac. “As a company we are committed to outstanding performance. We are honored and excited to share the spirit of excellence of The Wexford Opera Festival”.

“Datapac provides tomorrow’s technology and communications solutions while delivering high performance levels in a secure environment today,” says David McLoughlin, Chief Executive, Wexford Festival Trust. “As a trusted partner to the Wexford Festival Trust, we are extremely excited that Datapac has chosen to come on board. Datapac has a long history of commitment to the arts and their dedication to the arts makes this relationship a perfect fit”.

Work placement Programme

Datapac has recruited its 100th work placement student, a new landmark for the company. This milestone underscores Datapac’s commitment to supporting further education and developing the skills of young Irish undergraduates and graduates as they embark on their careers in an increasingly competitive work environment. Datapac’s investment for 2012 in its paid-for placement programme will be €145,000, with more than €1 million invested in total since the programme began.

Datapac began its work placement programme in 2004 and has established strong links with third level institutions around Ireland including Waterford IT, DCU, NUIG, UCC and NUI Maynooth. This year, 13 students and graduates have been recruited onto the programme and this includes Gavin Downey, a multimedia student from Waterford IT, who becomes Datapac’s 100th work placement student.

The Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton TD said “I wish to congratulate Datapac on its successful work placement programme, which offers students and graduates the opportunity to learn new and enterprising skills that will give them valuable experience to enter the workforce and secure long term employment. I wish all the interns well.”

Datapac provides information technologies, business solutions and IT consumables to businesses throughout Ireland. It has partnerships with some of the world’s largest technology companies including HP, Cisco and Microsoft. As an ICT solutions provider, students gain experience across a wide spectrum of areas, including IT architecture, customer service, sales and marketing.

Dr. Thomas O’Toole, head of the school of business, at Waterford IT commented, “Datapac has been a great supporter of our students and it is fantastic to hear that it will be taking on board its 100th workplace student this year. Work placement plays a vital role in third level education as it gives the students access to the real business world, enabling them to apply their learning. It also gives them a strong base from which to enter the jobs market when they complete their studies.”

Over the eight years of the programme, a number of students have been invited back as full-time employees of Datapac, further emphasising the benefit of these programmes to students and the company’s themselves.

Shane Molloy, network engineer with the professional services team at Datapac and former work placement student, commented on the programme, “Many Irish students come straight out of college, into what is now a highly competitive job market, with no real work experience. The Datapac programme gave me the opportunity to apply all the theory I was studying and put it into practice. I have been working with Datapac for six years now and I am still grateful for the work placement programme, as it not only introduced me to my future employer but provided me with the rounded experience I needed to be a fully qualified IT professional.”

Karen O’Connor, general manager service delivery, Datapac said, “As an Irish company we are aware of the need for more skilled Irish professionals, particularly in the IT industry. We began this programme to give something back to the local communities in which we operate and found it to be extremely successful for both Datapac and the students. We are fully committed to continuing to grow this programme over the coming years.

“The talent of some of the students coming through our third level colleges is very exciting and we have been delighted to be able to offer some of these exceptional individuals full-time employment. They have repaid us by becoming some of our greatest assets over the years.”