Tag Archives: charity

“OUR volunteers are the backbone of what we do,” says Tina Nagle, shop supervisor at the Irish Wheelchair Association’s charity shop in Ennis’ Elevation Business Park. Tina was speaking to The Champion as the shop’s team celebrated scooping an impressive four national awards from the Irish Charity Shop Association, including Volunteer of the Year for Margaret Hurley. And she revealed the success of the Ennis shop, which has expanded to 3,000 square feet at its base on the Clon Road, is set to become the model for any new shops to be opened by the charity in the future. According to Tina they were “thrilled” to receive accolades from the Irish Charity Shop Association at their recent awards ceremony in Dublin. As well as Margaret’s national Volunteer of the Year award, selected from charity shops all over Ireland, volunteer Hasibullah Darwish was runner up in the Volunteer throughout Ireland category; Teresa Marshall received a special Volunteer Recognition award and Tina …

IN its most ambitious fundraising event to date, the Lap the Lake cycle, organised by the Lough Derg RNLI Fundraising Branch, has been described as “an immense success”. The event, blessed by good weather and good cheer has raised significant funds, essential for the charity’s lifesaving activities. 250 cyclists participated in the event on May 8 which started and finished at the RNLI Lifeboat Station in Dromineer. The 130km route around Lough Derg gave participants the opportunity to delight in the outstanding beauty of the lake and the River Shannon. The riders’ safety and well-being were well catered for with First Aid providers, out-riders, marshals, and bike maintenance stops along the route, as well as comfort and refreshments stations. Niamh McCutcheon, Chairperson of the Lough Derg RNLI Fundraising Committee and the ‘Lap the Lake’ Event Committee, said, “The Inaugural Lap of the Lake cycle around the beautiful Lough Derg covering counties Tipperary, Clare and Galway was enjoyed by cyclists from all over Ireland. The …

ORGANISERS of a hike up Mount Brandon to raise funds for a charity working in Ukraine have confirmed they have raised more than €6,000. Retired Air Traffic Controllers  Frank Barry from Clarecastle and  John Hunt from Roscommon with his daughter Annie and four members of An Garda Siochana from Portlaoise recently climbed Mount Brandon to raise money  in aid of Concerns appeal for Ukraine. Paying tribute to all of those who supported the endeavour Frank said, “A big thank you to everyone who supported this fundraiser which took place on April 6”.

A GROUP of Ennis women are certainly on the ball when it comes to pitching in to raise funds for a local charity. Soccer Sisters Ennis, a newly established social soccer team based in the county capital, recently set out on a fundraising climb in aid of Clare Haven Services. Last weekend they took on the challenge of climbing the 12 O’Clock Hills in an event dubbed the ‘Hike for Haven’. So far they have raised over €2,600 for the local charity, with more donations still being accepted. Laura Thompson of Soccer Sisters tells us they have been “blown away” by the level of support they have received in raising funds for Clare Haven. “We see ourselves as very much a community team and we decided that we wanted to do something to mark international women’s day so we thought about helping to raise funds for an organisation that supports local women. “We were so excited to get on board …

THE Lough Derg RNLI Fundraising Branch are making a ‘wheel’ effort to raise funds with the announcement of the first ever RNLI Lough Derg Charity Cycle this summer. The 130km Lap the Lake cycle which will see participants circuit beautiful Lough Derg will be held on May 8. The fundraising cycle is being “widely supported all around the country” says Niamh McCutcheon, Chairperson of the Lough Derg RNLI Fundraising Branch. The cycle will start and finish at the RNLI Lifeboat Station in Dromineer. The 130km route around Lough Derg will give participants an opportunity to delight in the outstanding beauty of the lake and River Shannon through counties Tipperary, Clare and Galway. As part of the safety measures there will be first aid, out riders, marshals and bike maintenance provided throughout the course. There will be a comfort stop at Le Bateau, Emerald Star Line in Portumna, where tea, coffee and a lunch pack will be provided for participants. Lough Derg Yacht Club …

A LOCAL Ennis group has been set up to help Ukrainian refugees driven out of their country following the invasion by Russia. The group, Ireland Poland Ukraine Refugee Relief (IPURR) are fundraising to support their Polish friend Marcin Piotrowski, who lived in Ennis but now lives in Poland, 10km from the Ukraine border. Last week the Clare Champion detailed how Marcin and his wife Marina’s have been helping those fleeing Ukraine by providing vital supplies to those on the border as well as a place of refuge in their home. The members of the new group are Anna Labuda Scanlon, Mayor of Ennis Ann Norton, Kieran O’Loughlin, Frank Gormley, Ray Scanlon and Pat Rutherford Councillor Norton tells us, “Marcin has an excellent reputation in Ireland as a humanitarian. He has done trojan work in Ireland in helping to integrate his community into Irish society. “He started, amongst other things, the Polish Ireland Festival, which took place not only in Ennis …

LOCAL volunteers who have gathered donations to send to war ravaged Ukraine have been told by a Polish charity they have made the largest contribution of goods in Ireland. More than 50 pallets of donations including food, clothes and medical items are now making their way from Clare to Poland, where non-profit Polish charity WOSP will distribute them to Ukrainian people in need. The Ukrainian Relief Fund Committee have been co-ordinating the collection, sorting and packing of goods from individuals, groups, schools and businesses across the county in recent days from their base in the Tracklands Business Park in Ennis. On Wednesday the last of the donations were piled onto a truck and waved off by the volunteers. Julian Czucha, who along with his wife Paulina Podstawska is part of the committee, explains they had initially planned a small collection collaborating with volunteers in Ennis through the local Polish School (Polanka). However, the generosity of the people of Clare soon …

SCHOOLCHILDREN from over 20 Clare national schools have joined a campaign that’s planting more than a million trees in Ireland and Africa this year. In the lead up to Christmas, close to 160 class groups at national schools across the county will hold tree planting ceremonies on school grounds, local parks and public land, and will lend their backing to communities who will be planting tens of thousands of new trees in Uganda, Kenya, Senegal and Malawi before the end of the year. The schools initiative is part of the One Million Trees campaign, which will see Self Help Africa plant over a million trees this year.  The campaign is being coordinated by Clare native Sean McMahon, the former principal of Mullagh National School and a former President of the INTO teachers union. The campaign is being backed by the INTO,  and will see native Irish seedlings being distributed for planting by each participating class group. Workshops, collections and other …