Toy Show funds the gifts that keep on giving for 650,000 youngsters

KIDZ ZONE Darren Stewart, AKA ‘MC Tiny’ attends the Rap and Songwriting Project at The Kabin Studio in Knocknaheeny on Mondays and Thursdays, and Youth Work Ireland Cork

Christmas has come early for 650,000 children, including budding Cork rappers thanks to the generosity of Toy Show viewers.

It follows the awarding of some €3m in grants to 55 projects across the country from the staggering €6.6m which was donated to the RTÉ appeal last November.

Half of that money was shared between Barnardos Ireland, Children’s Health Foundation Ireland and Children's Books Ireland but the rest was made available in an open call for grants, managed by The Community Foundation for Ireland and Community Foundation Northern Ireland, which were announced today.

Music Generation Cork City is in line for almost €100,000, with one of its flagship projects, The Kabin Studio, in Hollyhill on the city’s northside, in line for a big funding boost.

Darren Stewart, aka MC Tiny, 12, who rapped on the Toy Show in 2019, described The Kabin as a welcoming space.

“I feel welcome there. I feel good there as well, like it’s time to rap, because when I’m outside I write lyrics, but when I’m in The Kabin, I’m in the zone,” he said.

Rapper, producer, songwriter and youth workshop facilitator, Garry McCarthy, a director of GMCBeats and co-ordinator of the Kabin Studio since 2012, said they have created a space where young people can be creative.

“It’s a fun place, where we let the young people take a sense of ownership of the place. We’ve built a community here, a little family, we love it," he said.

For many, it feels like it’s a second home.

Late Late Show host, Ryan Tubridy, described The Kabin as a “microcosm of the broader kindnesses and sense of volunteerism” of those who will benefit from the fund.

“The money is going directly to children all over the island of Ireland who are going to have better, happier, safer and more creative, enriched and nourished lives because of these donations,” he said.

And he said the appeal will be back again for this year's Toy Show in November.

Other projects set to benefit from the fund include COPE Galway’s Helping Kids First programme; a therapeutic supports service for young people who are survivors of sexual violence provided by the Donegal Rape Crisis Centre; and a rural outreach mental health support programme for young people in Limerick.