Children’s Grief Centre awarded 2026 Rethink Ireland Children’s Active Play Fund

Rethink Ireland names Limerick-based organisation as awardee of the 2026 Children’s Active Play Fund

Children’s Grief Centre has been announced as one of the 2026 Rethink Ireland Children’s Active Play Fund winners

Limerick’s Children’s Grief Centre has been revealed as one of the awardees of the 2026 Children’s Active Play Fund, announced by Rethink Ireland.

This is a €1.5m initiative which supports innovative organisations that are helping young people get active, stay healthy, and develop meaningful social connections through play and movement.

Joining Children’s Grief Centre, An Taisce, Children in Hospital Ireland, the Irish Heart Foundation, ChildVision, Irish Foster Care Association and Neurodiversity Ireland are among the awardees of the fund and will receive a range of business supports to help scale their impact.

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The support of the Children’s Active Play Fund will enable the Children’s Grief Centre to expand access to one-to-one play-centred support and strengthen outreach services for children who face barriers to attending the centre, including those in disadvantaged communities.

Carol Fitz-Gough, Fundraising and Events Coordinator of the Children’s Grief Centre, said, “The Children’s Grief Centre provides specialised support to children and young people affected by bereavement, parental separation, and divorce, helping them navigate grief in a safe and supportive environment.

“The Support for Children Navigating Grief project uses play-based, creative, and child-led approaches to help children express emotions, build resilience, and improve their emotional wellbeing. By ensuring more children can access specialist grief support through play, the project aims to reduce the long-term emotional impacts of loss and help children build healthy coping skills.”

Through partnerships such as this, Rethink Ireland and the Sunflower Charitable Foundation are working to create healthier, more inclusive communities where all children can thrive.

Pádraic Vallely, Head of Government and Strategic Partnerships, Rethink Ireland, said, “This fund represents a vital investment in the future of our young people, enabling projects that make physical activity and outdoor play accessible for all, especially those on the margins of society.

“The initiative supports a diverse range of organisations working with children facing different challenges across disability, bereavement, caring responsibilities, visual impairment, neurodiversity and time spent in hospital. This is philanthropy in action, and I would like to thank the Sunflower Charitable Foundation, its executive and trustees for their unwavering commitment to support young people.”

Samantha Briody, CEO of the Sunflower Charitable Foundation, shared, “At the Sunflower Charitable Foundation, we share a belief that communities and local groups are central to improving the wellbeing and resilience of children and young people – and so the Children’s Active Play Fund is a means to that end. We could not be more excited and thrilled for the awarded organisations of this fund, who represent diverse, inclusive and innovative solutions to getting children involved in outdoor and creative play, building that sense of community and belonging from a young age.”