Tag Archives: charity

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 …

PEDAL power has helped to raise over half a million euro for branches of Down Syndrome Ireland in Munster, including Clare. 2021 will certainly be a year to remember for Tour de Munster, not only as the Tour celebrated its 21st edition, but also raising a phenomenal €522,201-  its largest sum to date for the Munster branches of Down Syndrome Ireland. The grand total was revealed at a cheque presentation on Saturday with cycling legend and long term supporter of the Tour, Sean Kelly, presenting the cheque. Jean Hanrahan of Down Syndrome Clare said, “A huge round of applause is in order for all those involved in this year’s Tour de Munster. It’s truly great to see that, despite the circumstances of the past 18 months, 2021 has been the most successful Tour to date in terms of funds raised. From us all in Down Syndrome Clare, we can’t express our gratitude enough. ” Since the tour began in 2001, …

MORE hands are needed to help Clare Youth Service pack shoeboxes in their efforts to contribute to Team Hope’s shoebox appeal that assists vulnerable young people in Africa and Eastern Europe this Christmas. The shoeboxes will be filled with items for personal use such as toothbrushes and toothpaste, soap and hairbrushes as well clothing items such as socks, gloves and hats. Boxes will be specifically designed for different age groups. The young people will be putting the shoeboxes together on Friday, October 29 at 2pm in the Ennis Youth Centre on Carmody Street. If you can lend a hand to help wrap some shoeboxes, get in contact with youth worker Jorien on 085 804 1633 or csprojects@clareyouthservice.org. and help spread the joy.

THE brakes were pulled on the annual When In Doubt, Pedal It Out mental health awareness cycle last year due to Covid-19, but fortunately it is all systems go for this year’s event. Cyclists will take to the roads of Clare this coming Sunday, October 24. The event is being based out of the Clarecastle GAA facility and will depart at 10am sharp and take in parts of Clarecastle, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Shannon, Quin and Doora – Barefield parishes. One of the organising committee, Paul Murphy, is thrilled at the prospect of the event hitting the road again following last year’s enforced hiatus. “It’s fantastic that we are in a position to run the event this year and all of the committee are really looking forward to Sunday. Once again we in Clare Cycle Safety are being assisted by sponsorship  from Ennis Municipal District and we would like to thank them for their continued support. “Marshalling is being provided by volunteers and …

A CLARE-BASED nurse with children’s charity Jack & Jill is urging the people of the Banner to go Up the Hill in solidarity with local families who face an uphill challenge every day. The Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation is holding its Up the Hill for Jack & Jill fundraiser this October asking people to take on a climbing challenge. This is the seventh year of the nationwide fundraising challenge which aims to raise funds for the organisation’s specialist home nursing care, respite support and end-of-life care for very sick children up to the age of six. Margaret Naughton, Jack & Jill Specialist Children’s Liaison Nurse for Clare, said the event means so much to local families, who depend on the funds raised for their support. “To say that it has been a very tough 18 months for our Jack & Jill families is an understatement. As one of the vulnerable groups during the pandemic, our families have had to …

ENNIS Rotary Club is urging the public to make a ‘wheel’ effort in continuing support of a project which is bringing bicycles to school children in Africa. The initiative which sees people donate their unwanted, repairable bikes has already resulted in 157 bicycles shipped from Clare to Gambia. The Rotary Ireland School Bikes Africa project, with the support of Clare County Council, gives members of the public across Clare the opportunity to bring their unwanted bicycles to the Central Waste Management Facility at Ballyduff Beg, Inagh. From there, Rotary Ireland deliver the bicycles to the open prisons at Loughan House, County Cavan, and Shelton Abbey, County Wicklow, where they are refurbished by prisoners. They are then shipped to Africa and distributed to school children, giving them the chance of a better future. Michael Shepherd of Ennis Rotary told The Champion that they have been delighted with the response the project has received locally. He outlined that there is now a …

UNIVERSITY students led by an Ennis woman have put their best foot forward to raise much needed funds for various organisations including a local community hospital and nursing home. Community Liaison Officer at the University of Limerick, and Ennis native, Gabriella Hanrahan spearheaded the fundraising efforts which encouraged students to get some exercise while also doing some good for worthy causes. She believes that higher education students are an “untapped resource” and is encouraging communities to get in touch to explore ways student volunteers can support local initiatives. Speaking to The Clare Champion about the fundraiser, Gabriella said, “Covid has created enormous challenges for organisations that traditionally fundraise to provide additional supports and services to communities. Covid also had the effect of reducing volunteering opportunities.” She explained that the students committed to doing 40km of exercise with some walking, cycling or running, and they donated the money raised to animal shelters and activities for residents in nursing homes. They raised …

WHILE many of us were using Zoom to do quizzes during lock-down, advocates with a learning disability supported by Brothers of Charity were using the technology to develop international connections. The local advocates have been linking up with Indian charity Families for Children, a non profit, non-sectarian organisation that exists to fulfill the needs of children and young adults with disabilities. Resulting from this, both groups are coming together to host a Wellbeing Zoom event on Thursday, September 16 to raise funds for Indian children and Families for Children’s work. Labasheeda advocate Orla McMahon explains how the connection with Families for Children began back in April when the country was in the grip of record breaking cases of Covid-19. “When I saw the news on TV, families getting turned away from hospitals in India it was desperate. I said, we should do something about this. Let’s do a fundraiser. We’re all meeting up on Zoom nowadays so we looked up …