GALWAY, IRELAND | September 8, 2025 – Best Buddies International, a global nonprofit creating opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities, has launched the Empowerment & Future Ready Program in Galway, supported by Fundación MAPFRE. MAWDY Ireland will collaborate through Fundación MAPFRE’s volunteering program.
MAWDY, one of Ireland’s largest travel insurance and breakdown assistance providers, operates in 23 countries and supports over 50 million people worldwide. In Ireland, MAWDY has served the market for 35 years, making it a deeply rooted part of the local community. This initiative reflects MAWDY’s commitment to Diversity & Inclusion, aligned with its broader social responsibility goals.
The Galway launch brings Best Buddies’ proven Transitions curriculum—responsible for over 9,600 career readiness workshops and over 4,000 student participants in the United States—to Ireland for the first time. Across 12 months, youth with intellectual disabilities will take part in skills-building workshops, one-on-one mentoring, and inclusive events designed to support their transition after school.
“This project represents far more than a grant,” said Anthony K. Shriver, Founder, Chairman & CEO of Best Buddies International. “It stands as a model for what’s possible when nonprofit and corporate sectors come together with shared purpose.”
MAWDY’s involvement goes beyond sponsorship, with local leadership and Galway-based staff engagement underscoring how corporate social responsibility efforts can support inclusion on the ground.
“We’re proud to partner with Best Buddies International and Fundación MAPFRE to launch a new initiative in Galway for young people with intellectual disabilities. This program goes beyond mentoring—it’s about volunteering and creating a community where everyone feels they belong,” said Craig Senior, General Manager of MAWDY in Ireland. “Huge thanks to our team, partners, and the inspiring students who are already showing us what’s possible.”
“This program is about preparing students and young people with an intellectual disability for their future, not just with skills, but with confidence and connection,” said Linda Keane, Executive Director of Best Buddies Ireland. “We’re excited to be the first to launch in Galway with such dedicated partners and look forward to building a more inclusive Ireland together.”
This initiative marks Fundación MAPFRE’s first social impact project in Ireland.
Learn more at www.bestbuddies.org/international
Media Contacts
Linda Keane
Executive Director, Best Buddies Ireland
Linda.Keane@abilitywest.ie
+353 87 997 1558
Máire Ward
HR Manager, MAWDY
mward99@mawdy.com
+353 91 501 610
About Best Buddies International
Best Buddies® is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, inclusive living, and family support for people with intellectual disabilities (ID). Founded in 1989 by Anthony K. Shriver, Best Buddies is a vibrant organization that has grown from one original chapter to over 3,500 middle school, high school, and college chapters worldwide. Today, Best Buddies’ programs engage participants in each of the 50 states and in 41 countries, positively impacting the lives of more than 1.3 million people with and without disabilities around the world. In many cases, as a result of their involvement with Best Buddies, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities secure rewarding jobs, live on their own, become inspirational leaders, and make lifelong friendships. For more information, please visit www.bestbuddies.org or connect with us via Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
About MAWDY
MAWDY is based in Galway City in the west of Ireland and employs 150 staff. For the last 35 years they have provided travel insurance, breakdown assistance, home emergency assistance and vehicle warranty products. Their clients include Ireland’s largest insurers, brokers, car dealerships and utilities companies, and they work with the world’s largest car manufacturers.
MAWDY Worldwide Digital Assistance is the MAPFRE Group’s Assistance Unit. Until 2023 known as MAPFRE Asistencia, MAWDY is a multinational company with a presence in 23 countries, mainly in Latin America and Europe, and has more than 2,500 employees. MAWDY specializes in digital distribution models with partners and companies from various sectors, to which it provides services and solutions that go beyond insurance and complement the offer of its business partners.
About Fundación MAPFRE
With fifty years of history, Fundación MAPFRE has committed itself to people’s well-being and social progress. Their mission, as a non-profit institution created by MAPFRE, is to contribute to improving people’s quality of life and the progress of society through multinational programs and activities.
