Supporting our heroes - A story
Chapter 1 - AXA Farm Hero
Last summer we launched AXA Farm Hero. With your help, we searched far and wide to find the unsung heroes working every day in farming communities all over Ireland.
It was amazing to see the enthusiasm and support everyone showed the nominees and the eventual winner. Eugene O’Neill, a dairy farmer from Bracknagh in Co Offaly, raised over €50,000 for Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin. He and his wife wanted to give back to the hospital after the fantastic care their son received when treated there.
The couple raised much needed funds for Crumlin Hospital with an annual Tractor Run. Eugene and Lorraine donated their €10,000 prize to Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin and the local volunteers that help the Bracknagh community.
Chapter 2 - Covid Car Cover
We were inspired by the amazing work done by doctors, nurses and healthcare workers in communities across Ireland.
Antoinette McDonald, Director at AXA said: "Our frontline doctors, nurses and support staff have inspired the whole country and none more so than those who returned from as far away as Australia to help the national Covid-19 effort."
We partnered with Renault to create Covid Car Cover. Through our initiative we were able to help returning medics get back on the road safely with complimentary car insurance.
It was heartwarming to read the stories of the brave nurses and doctors we helped get back on the road. We were honoured to have helped make their lives a little easier during this difficult time.
Chapter 3 - AXA Community Hero
The stories we received shone a light on the inspiring farmers and medics all over the country. With AXA Community Hero, we want to pick up where we left off!
The thing about heroes is that they often go unrecognised outside of their own community. We want individuals and communities to get behind AXA Community Hero and celebrate the heroes in their lives. So, if you’re lucky enough to know one and proud to be their friend, now is your chance to celebrate them!
We need your help finding our local heroes!
The story can’t be written without you! Your hero could be anybody. It could be a friend that gets up early every Saturday to mow the lawns of elderly neighbours. It could be a relative who runs activities for children with disabilities, or someone who has rallied the community and brought them closer together during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Heroes come in all forms, but what they do for the people around them inspires self-belief, and their stories deserve to be shared and celebrated.
The prize
AXA will donate €20,000 to a charity of the winner’s choice.
How to nominate your hero
Our search for Ireland’s Community Hero launched on 2nd July 2020 and the closing date for entries is 31st August, 2020.
The competition is open to residents of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and all nominees must be aged 18 years or over at the date of entry.
Our panel of judges will consider the following when assessing nominations:
- What has this person done in their community that has inspired their nomination?
- Has this person demonstrated leadership, innovation and creativity?
- Does this person inspire others in the community?
- Has this person had to make sacrifices to help others?
- The degree of difficulty of the service rendered
- How many people has the activity benefited?
Only one nomination is allowed per person, so choose carefully! We can’t wait to read all the submissions.
Nominate your community hero online.
Know You Can
We always want to go further for our customers, and we want to recognise members of our community who bring to life our brand promise of "Know You Can".
