Co-founder of the Hygiene Hub Ciára Dalton: ‘I wanted to make a tangible difference’
A Policy Officer and Barrister-at-Law by profession, Ciára Dalton is also one of three co-founders of the Hygiene Hub – a registered charity providing hygiene and household cleaning products to people in need around Ireland. An advocate for change through education, research and campaigns, Ciára – together with co-founders Rosie McDonagh and Sorcha Killian – have grown what was a local community group of three people who wanted to make a difference, into a national charity of more than 50 volunteers… all whilst working and studying full-time.
I never really knew what exactly I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to do something that would help people and make a tangible difference.
I don’t think I even knew what it meant to be a social entrepreneur until two or three years into the journey with the Hygiene Hub. That’s why I studied law, and that’s why my day (paid!) job is in policy, but for me, the Hygiene Hub is the best part of my day. Once we realised how many people across Ireland were going without access to essential hygiene items, I knew instantly that I would do everything in my power to fix this issue, even if that meant essentially working two full-time jobs, and not being able to give 100% to it all the time!
I did my undergrad in law in DCU and my master’s in human rights law in Galway.
Over the pandemic, while co-founding the Hygiene Hub alongside Rosie McDonagh and Sorcha Killian, I also qualified as a barrister – a route I thought I might take but with the pandemic, what that would look like was a little blurry, so I decided to go into policy and worked with the Human Rights and Equality Commission for a year or two before landing the job I am in now.
My most formative work experience was working in the service industry.
I worked in hospitality for seven years and in childcare for four – both of which are incredibly fast-paced. It taught me the importance of problem-solving, adaptability, collaboration, communication, and many other skills that have been invaluable in establishing and growing a non-profit.
My first real job was working in the Village Coffee House in Templeogue.
I started there when I was 16 and worked with the team right through until I was about 21. I absolutely loved it! It taught me so much about communication, hard work and how to work under pressure. It will always mean a lot to me as I essentially grew up there!
The most invaluable thing I learned early on in my career was to learn when to ask for help.
I am a very logical and practical person and so I often find myself going straight into problem-solving mode just to fix issues, but learning when to rely on other people has been so beneficial for me and the team. It’s also really important to build a team around you that you can completely trust.
A common misconception about what I do is that the Hygiene Hub is my full-time job!
As much as I wish this were the case, it is an entirely voluntary position that I do alongside my full-time job. This can be tough, but I am so passionate about what the Hygiene Hub is trying to achieve that the sacrifices are 100% worth it. I am also lucky to be surrounded by very understanding friends and family who understand the time commitment and know just how much the Hygiene Hub means to me.
My main responsibility in work is managing the external relationships for the Hygiene Hub.
This covers everything from corporate and school partnerships to marketing, campaigns, and social media. I am also responsible, alongside my co-founders, for growing the Hygiene Hub so we can support more people across Ireland who need it.
I am grateful to have a range of people I can rely on for advice when I need them.
Through our involvement with Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, we also have connected with a lot of other social entrepreneurs and founders, all of whom are a wealth of knowledge for us on our journey.
The biggest risk I have taken in my career so far is choosing to set up a national charity at 23!
To some, it was risky, but to me, it was something that I just had to do. It has been an incredible journey, filled with highs and lows and lots of learnings but it has been so rewarding.
I wake at 6:20am and the first thing I do every morning is try to get outside and go for a walk.
I work mainly from home so I find getting some daylight early on really sets me up well for the day. This is a habit I definitely struggle with coming into the winter months with the darker mornings, but I do love a stroll around my local park and never regret starting my day that way.
My morning routine is varied – it all depends on how much Hygiene Hub work I have to do before I start my main job at 9:30am.
I like to get up, go for a walk/go to the gym, have breakfast, read and then get ready for the day. Sometimes though, my morning might involve me heading to our storage unit to sort a delivery, or jumping straight onto the laptop to fix a problem… thankfully, the latter doesn’t happen too often (anymore!). I travel to work by foot most days (to the spare room!) but by bus when I am in the office, or by car when I need to go to our storage unit.
I can’t go to work without my water bottle, laptop and AirPods.
I work mainly remotely for two organisations so I cannot do anything without access to WiFi and my laptop. I am also so easily distracted when in a public place, so I often need to be able to block out background noise.
On an average workday, I focus on a mix of creative, operations and strategy tasks.
Each day really can and does look very different, and that’s exactly why I like it. I start my working day at about 8:30am so I can fly through some Hygiene Hub work before I start my day job an hour later. The first thing I do at work is check my emails, write my to-do list and prioritise my tasks for the day.
I usually spend the first portion of the day ticking off some ‘quick ticks’ for the Hygiene Hub, before I get into longer project-based pieces of work.
I break for lunch between 12:30-1:30pm and usually have leftovers from the night before. I like to spend that time outside, or reading, so I try to limit the amount of cooking I have to do during that hour.
The most useful business tool I use every day is Salesforce.
This has been transformative for us at the Hygiene Hub and just makes everything so much more efficient. Zoom also has to be up there too, as without it, we wouldn’t have survived the pandemic. We are based all over Ireland so most of the team haven’t actually met in person, yet we still have good relationships and I think Zoom has played a big part in that. I also use Canva literally every day for so many things!
I save time by not putting things off and by time-blocking as much as I can when working on longer-term projects.
I rarely get through my working day without copious amounts of tea, and lots of snacks. I love all things chocolate so I’m sure to keep a good selection in the house!
The best part of my day is working with some amazing people and hearing about the impact that the Hygiene Hub is having.
It can be really heartbreaking too, knowing that so many people across the country would be going with basics like shampoo or deodorant, but knowing they have access to these items because of the work that we do, you just can’t beat that feeling.
The most challenging part of my day is juggling two very different full-time jobs.
Having to put organisations on the Hygiene Hub’s waitlist is also something we really struggle with as an organisation. While we take pride in knowing we support 100 different organisations across the country, having any on our waitlist is something that the entire team struggles with. Currently, there are 23 organisations who need our support but we cannot distribute to right now.
I know it’s been a good day if I make progress on something.
I am flexible as to what that looks like! A good day always ends with time to relax and recharge too. I usually end my day at 6:30pm. I work past this when necessary, but I also know that I need to properly unwind in order to keep working at a very busy pace!
I switch off from work by going for a walk while listening to a podcast or going to the gym or making dinner.
I find going straight into a ‘task’ allows me to leave work behind for the day. Before I go to bed, I do my skincare and read a chapter or two of a book. I often prepare for tomorrow by assessing my to-do list and tidying my desk.
After a long work week, I destress by finishing a little bit early if I can.
Doing some sort of exercise, particularly a class-based one, really means I can just shut off and follow someone’s instructions. After that, I’ll take a long shower and fill my weekend with rest, good food, good company and lots of nature.
The accomplishment I’m most proud of is the Hygiene Hub.
It will likely always be the thing that I am most proud of. How can it not be when I know we are supporting 100 organisations across Ireland with access to essential hygiene items that they would otherwise go without? I’ve just finished working on the Hygiene Hub’s Christmas campaign and at the moment I’m working on an event we are planning for next year to celebrate our 5th birthday!
If you want to get into my line of work, my advice is to speak to people in the industry.
Ask questions. Think about what problem you are trying to solve and go from there!
Visit hygienehub.ie for ways to support. Photography by Leon Farrell.
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