Brought to you by HEINEKEN Ireland.

“If you build it, they will come.”

So goes Ray Liota’s (slightly apocryphal) line in the 1989 film Field of Dreams.

Thirty years later, and on a three-acre site in Curraheen, Down Syndrome Cork has certainly built it, and members of the local community have certainly come.

Field of Dreams is a horticulture-based training centre for adults with Down Syndrome.

Service users who sign up to courses there can expect to acquire valuable life skills that will help them find paying employment. Right now, the stark truth is that 95% of adults with Down Syndrome in Ireland are unemployed.

Field of Dreams is of the belief that this need not be the case. In the short clip above, student Maeve describes why the Field of Dreams means so much to her.

The centre boasts a training room, commercial grade kitchen with cafe area, two polytunnels, a market garden, a sensory garden, a remembrance garden, orchard, covered courtyard and recreational areas.

A fruit garden is currently under construction, due for completion in Spring 2019.

“When I visited Field of Dreams recently with a team of 50 volunteers from HEINEKEN Ireland it struck me that another, slightly modified version of that famous conditional movie quote could serve as Field of Dreams’ own motto: If you care and love something, it will grow.” Barbara Anne Richardson, HEINEKEN Ireland’s CSR and communications manager told Yay Cork.

“On the surface, the Field of Dreams is about plants and flowers, but spend some time there and you’ll soon learn that it’s the people there that do most of the blossoming.”

If you or somebody you know would like to take part in a Field of Dreams programme starting in September, fill out an application form here.

Do you want to get involved as a volunteer, work placement or supporter? Contact Sharon by emailing s.mulcahy@fieldofdreamscork.ie.