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Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

The Smurfit Kappa Foundation is deeply committed to supporting the local communities in countries where Smurfit Kappa Group operates. View a snapshot of the projects we have undertaken below, all of which align with one of our focus UN SDGs, "Good Health and Wellbeing".

We would like to acknowledge that whilst these projects are aligned to our focus UN SDG of Good Health and Wellbeing, many also contribute to other United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Good health and wellbeing 

Familiengemeinschaft – Germany
A €120,000 donation from the Foundation helped the charity Familiengemeinschaften in Germany achieve their goal of opening a third home for young children affected by abuse. The funding allowed the new home to comply with health and safety standards, as well as helping with furniture and fittings.
Charity for children
Down Syndrome Centre
Down Syndrome centre – Ireland
The Down Syndrome Centre is the first service-led centre in Ireland for children with Down syndrome. The centre provides essential early intervention therapy to over 250 children from birth to 18 years. With our donation of €25,000, the centre was able to build an Occupational Therapy Gym and Sensory room for their facility in Swords, Co. Dublin.
Down Syndrome Centre
Scoil Cholmcille Senior N.S. – Ireland
Scoil Cholmcille national school operates within a cluster of similarly disadvantaged schools. Their aim is to provide opportunities for children to achieve their maximum potential through the educational system. A €13,150 donation from the Foundation helped fund a Physical Fitness programme, allowing them to gather data from 200 children and deliver in-depth analytics.
children's sports
Child playing
Ambitious about Autism – UK
This project, which we supported with a £64,140 donation, helped Ambitious about Autism fund an autism specific AI and digital skill development at their new facility. Included in this project was specialist rooms for children’s medical and therapeutic needs, such as spaces for speech and language therapy, soft play areas and sensory rooms with musical equipment.
Child playing
Clarehaven – Ireland
Clarehaven are a voluntary organisation who were launching a project to work with young people between ages 10 and 18 who have been subject to domestic abuse in the home. A donation of €26,000 helped fund their summer art project to help young people deal with these experiences, make their lives as manageable as possible and support them dealing with the associated trauma.
Charity Art room
Horse-riding arena
Kleine Strolche children’s home – Germany
The Kleine Strolche children's home specializes in traumatized and medically challenged children. Our donation of €30,000 helped fund 4 different projects. Supported by over 60 Smurfit Kappa Volunteers, these donations made it possible to build a horse-riding arena, surrounding fencing, a paddock area for therapy horses and a paved fireplace for the children.
Horse-riding arena
Extern – Ireland
Extern helps support the most disadvantaged children and young people in Ireland who have to deal with family breakdowns, substance abuse, mental health issues and poor education. Our donation of €50,000 helped adapt and refurbish a new local respite facility which will be used as short term respite and day services for those with intellectual disabilities.
Games room
Child with horse
Clondalkin Equine Club – Ireland
A donation of €60,000 was made to the Clondalkin Equine Club to support their maintenance and development. The Equine club provides a supportive environment for children and their families, giving them a sense of belonging within their community. It also allows them to benefit from the therapeutic effect that comes from interaction with horses.
Child with horse
Kiwi Organisation – France
Kiwi Organisation wanted to help Lyon Hospital improve their dental care area for underprivileged children. The project, which was funded by a €16,000 donation from the Smurfit Kappa Foundation,  created decoration and partition walls to try and help distract the children during treatment and help them with parent-child separation during treatment.
Hospital decoration
Prime Center building
Isituto Oncologico Romagnalo (IOR) – Italy
IOR are volunteers that operates in the areas of oncological care, prevention and research for young children and adults. We donated €48,917 towards their new Prime Center project to create a place where IOR can sustain oncological patients to cope with their illness through specific activities and have a space to implement prevention programmes.
Prime Center building
Barnardos – Ireland

A donation of €40,000 was made to Barnardos, a children’s charity to support those who’s well-being is under threat. We provided funding to build a garden room in their Dublin facility. This new room was created from scratch, and based on Trauma-Informed (TI) principles which incorporates multisensory elements, including an outdoor decking area.

Barnardos Garden Room
Wheelchair Accessible entrance
Extern (Inclusion in society) – Ireland
Extern helps support the most disadvantaged children and young people in Ireland who have to deal with family breakdowns, substance abuse, mental health issues and poor education. Our donation of €60,000 helped refurbish a new respite facility which provide short term respite for young people and families.
Wheelchair Accessible entrance
Presidio Riabilitativo Santa Maria - Italy
Presidio Riabilitativo Santa Maria takes care of children and young adults from 2 years to 16 years old affected by disabilities. In PRSM there are teams of speech therapists, educators, psychomotor therapists, psychologists who support the young patients with specific therapies. A donation of €60,000 was made to the centre to help bring their facilities in line with fire and safety regulations. 
Child playing
Action Enfance
Action Enfance Foundation - France
 Action Enfance Foundation were able to make improvements to their children’s village, which supported their goal to provide a stable and safe environment for disadvantaged children, thanks to a donation of €100,000 from Smurfit Kappa Foundation.
Action Enfance
IMPRESA SOCIALE SOGNI SRL – Italy
A donation of €30,000 was made to Associazione Sogni to help the children affected by diseases that prevent them from leaving their rooms at home or in the hospital for a long time. This helped fund the equipment required to provide a new service where they create specific entertainment and education programmes for the children, using virtual reality.
entertainment room
Ronald McDonald House Charity
Ronald McDonald House – Ireland
Ronald McDonald House Charities provide a home to families when caring for their ill children in hospital on a long-term basis. With the help of a donation of €100,000, they are able to provide an accessible playground so that all children can be included in outdoor activities. Every child who’s family use this service will get the benefit of this new adapted sensory playground.
Ronald McDonald House Charity
The Hamlet Charity – UK
The Hamlet charity supports children in Norfolk with disabilities and complex health needs, helping over 300 families every year. Our donation of £8,100 allowed the charity to install overhead hoisting in their pre-school playroom to enable them to support children with little or no mobility to support their developmental journey from 2 to 5 years.
Disabled children's charity
wheelchair accessible car
Reves association– France
Reves association is a French charity that aims to bring some happiness and relief to seriously ill children. Our donation of €35,000 enabled them to acquire a special purpose vehicle to help transport severely disabled and ill children to the activities they organise on a regular basis, such as recreational days, circuses, helicopter flights etc.
wheelchair accessible car

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