Casual comfort for good cause

UNIFORMS and suits will be swapped for denims in schools and businesses next month to help tackle child poverty.

The 10th anniversary of Denim Day will be marked from April 20 to 29. All the funds raised will be given by the Irish Youth Foundation (IYF) to programmes aimed at combating the effects of poverty, educational disadvantage, drug misuse and homelessness.

A Denim Day spokesperson said the IYF was bridging the gap between what youth and children’s projects need and what they receive from the State.

“The Government has made considerable strides towards improving the lives of its children and young people, but still these efforts fall short of what is needed,” the spokesperson said.

More than €10 million has been raised by the IYF in the past decade.

The schemes supported include after-school homework clubs, arts and drama activities, the purchase of sporting equipment, drug and alcohol awareness schemes and anti-social behaviour interventions.