The genesis of The Together Academy, a transformative programme for young adults with Down Syndrome, was stemmed from the founder’s Therese Coveney background in the social care sector and the birth of her daughter, April, who has Down Syndrome. Motivated by a vision of providing meaningful training and employment opportunities, Therese established The Together Academy as a social enterprise. Through strategic partnerships, diverse funding avenues, and a dedicated team, the organisation has flourished, offering training programs and employment opportunities while challenging biases and promoting inclusion.
What started with a single programme in Wanderers Rugby Club (beside the Aviva Stadium) has now culminated in collaborations with organisations like Happy Out café showcase their commitment to creating impactful partnerships in their flagship store in the newly opened cafe beside Dún Laoghaire Baths. Recognitions and awards underscore the positive impact The Together Academy has made within the Down Syndrome community and beyond, emphasising the importance of providing choice and opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Through collaborative efforts with entities like The Down Syndrome Centre and Down Syndrome Ireland, The Together Academy is actively advancing employment prospects and fostering inclusivity. Looking ahead, the organisation aims to deepen its engagement with the broader community and other organisations championing diversity and inclusion, recognizing the collective strength in unity.
- What was your background before you created The Together Academy? What was the spark for you to create The Together Academy?
My background has always been in the social care sector. I studied for a Master’s in Sociology in Maynooth College and afterwards worked with teenagers in residential care and with elderly and the community. In 2011 we had a daughter. April followed two typically developing little boys. She was born with Down Syndrome and in many ways that is when Together Academy started as from when she was a baby we were thinking about her future.
- Why did you decide to start it as a social enterprise? Did you apply to any programmes or initiatives to help get social enterprises off the ground?
We were very interested in the area of Social Enterprise as we wanted Together Academy to show a different way for young adults with disabilities. It really appealed to us to create exciting businesses where our young adults would get paid but we’re profits with them go back to our mission and values and goals.
We applied for every programme and initiative that was available and we had some great successes. Initially we got a small pocket of funding from Southside Partnership but with us came essential mentoring and support. We have been on many programs now with Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, and they are a tremendous supporter of us. We get sustainable funding to the dormant accounts fund and Pobal. Rethink Ireland with the The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth’s have recently come on board to support us. Without organisations like these together because we would not be in existence. The Education training board funds whichever classroom activities and provides external certification. This has enabled us to run robust, industry relevant training.
- How did you start recruiting both the clients for the business and the students that would work in the business?
Initially friends and parents of other children with Down Syndrome helped us to get started. We are partners with and under the Governance of The Down Syndrome Centre. The Down Syndrome Centre does incredible therapeutic work for children with Down Syndrome and through our journey with April attending there I met some terrific parents who wanted to really help to get Together Academy up and running. One of them Cathy Smith became my co-founder and two other mothers Laura O’Neill and Edel Lynch brought essential skills which allowed us to plan and grow and secure funding. I met Madeline Regan who is everybody’s right hand woman at the DSC and Peter Gaw, the founder of the Down Syndrome Centre allowed us free reign to build an impactful programme and he and the board of the DSC supported us through our work. Together Academy only exists because of all of these people and our terrific staff who never stop working pursuing our goals.
Getting students has, so far, not being difficult for us at all. There is such a demand amongst young adults with Down Syndrome to have good training, opportunities for work and more purpose in their day. The students and graduates are so fantastic to work with and we get tremendous pride and joy out of seeing them thrive and grow and learn.
- How do you go about reducing the inherent bias about employing someone with Down Syndrome when attracting new clients or partners to the organisation?
To date there has been great interest in the work that we are doing and we are only working with corporates or community organisations who really genuinely want to engage with young adults who need additional support. We did not have to go out and pitch Together Academy to people. Employers and the corporate sector see the work that we are doing and they are very keen to engage with us to support us and to employ our young adults.
We have developed a diversity and inclusion program which is vocational occupational therapist, Jack and our pathways to Employment coordinator, Paula delivers to employers. This has been hugely successful and there is a great appetite in industry to learn more about how to support our students.
- How did the partnerships with Happy Out come about? How long did it take to launch the cafe in Dun Laoghaire and what has the impact and feedback been like since?
Partnership with Happy Eyes has been one of the greatest highlights since we began our work at Together Academy. Brian Hanratty who owns Happy Out met me in the very early days when we were just getting ready to open our training cafe. He was a member at Wanderers Rugby Club where our training cafe is. Brian was very keen to support us learning about premium coffee, lending us his baristas and providing training to our young adults. This was all done voluntarily. When the tender for the Baths came up we approached Brian to see if he would like to open it in partnership with us. After that followed an extensive procurement process with Dun Laoghaire County Council and we were the successful bidder. It has been a hugely popular cafe since it opened. A fine example of inclusion and diversity in the workplace. It is a beautiful, iconic building. The local community and customers really love the café and our young adults are working in paid employment and loving their jobs.
- What have been some of the biggest highlights since launching? Have you won any awards or been featured in any media?
We’ve had some lovely awards since launching will stop last year myself and Cathy got Trailblazer of the Year Awards from Goss.ie and Tatler Magazine awarded us with Women of the Year award for social enterprise. Another highlight was our young adults doing the Haka with the New Zealand rugby team in 2021. It’s the most watched Irish tiktok for the All Blacks after the tribute to Anthony Foley in 2016. It remains one of my favourite memories.
Our training cafe at Wanderers Rugby club won Cafe of the Year in the Irish independent in 2022. That was a huge achievement and it made us realise that we were on the right track doing something impactful but delicious too. We have an excellent chef, Ali Gaw pastry chef, Mollie Regan. They along with the rest of the cafe staff are a brilliant team.
- Overall what has been the biggest impact on the Down Syndrome community since your launch?
I think everybody at Together Academy would give a different answer to this but I feel it’s just so important that our young adults have more choice about what they can do with their lives as they grow up. That we provide a fun hard-working professional environment for them to learn in to deepen friendships and to move on to employment gives me huge lift and satisfaction. Seeing the talents of our young people and of our staff is so encouraging. Together Academy is a very special place and it’s wonderful to be part of its story.
- How does The Together Academy work with other organisations such as the Down Syndrome Centre and Down Syndrome Ireland to help advance the employment of people with Down Syndrome in Ireland?
We operate under the Governance of The Down Syndrome Centre and I report to the board of The Down Syndrome Centre. We also meet with Down Syndrome Ireland and they are doing trojan work to change the employment landscape for young adults with Down Syndrome throughout the country. This is a piece of work that I would like to deepen in the next few years as I think our goals align so closely and we all have similar missions and values around supporting this terrific community.
- Are there any other companies in Ireland, besides those affiliated with Down Syndrome, that you admire for their work in the field of Diversity and Inclusion?
One of the difficulties of operating a start-up business is that you don’t get time to get out and see what others are doing. they’re are so many small and large organisations pushing hard for diversity and inclusion. This is happening throughout the country and I have met many of them at rethink Ireland or social entrepreneurs Ireland events. Pobal through Dormant accounts fund also funds very interesting organisations. It is my intention this year to get to know some of these businesses and groups a little better because we are much stronger together.