Tag Archives: GoFundMe

Over the past 48 hours, almost €5,000 has been raised locally to help support North Clare woman, Helga Himmelsbach. Helga, whose husband Jerry O’Connor lost his life in a road traffic collision outside of Ballyvaughan last year, has been struggling to come to terms with his loss in recent months while also attempting to continue her life in North Clare. On top of her grief, she has just found out that she needs a new roof on the house she and Jerry shared together. In more normal times, Jerry would have done much of the work to repair the roof himself, and Helga is struggling to fund this enormous and unexpected bill. A number of her friends have come together to set up a GoFundMe page to support the necessary repairs to the roof. The campaign has got off to a great start with a large number of people pledging money to help with the repair works. Ms Himmelsbach, along …

FOR many teenagers their mid-term break away from school is a time to kick back, take it easy and relax. Not so for 16-year-old Claire Cuddihy from Lissycasey who this February is set to take on an incredible challenge with the aim of raising mental health awareness as well as funds for a well-known charity. Claire is preparing to complete not one, but an amazing, seven marathons over the course of just one week in aid of Pieta. The student of St John Bosco Community College, Kildysart, will be taking on a gruelling 42km run each day, getting back out on the track every day for seven straight days in a row. Speaking to The Clare Champion ahead of her marathon challenge, she laughs as she considers the daunting challenge she has set herself. More seriously, however, she adds her strong belief that the issue of mental health needs to be highlighted, while she also wants to raise awareness and …

AN appeal launched locally to support a former Ennis resident helping Ukrainian people fleeing their country has raised more than €3,000 in less than a week. The Ennis-based Ireland Poland Ukraine Refugee Relief (IPURR) was recently set up to help Ukrainians driven from their country by the war and has been collecting donations to support their Polish friends Marcin Piotrowski and Marina Sestasvili-Piotrowska. (See Champion story here) The family lived and worked in Ennis for over a decade before returning to Poland in 2017, and since the Russian invasion they have been providing important help close to the Ukrainian – Polish border. Pat Rutherford of the IPURR committee told us that there has been a “steady stream” of support for the gofundme page  https://gofund.me/d11b390e that has been set up to collect donations. He expressed appreciation for the generous contributions that have been made so far while urging people to give if they can to the worthy cause. Donations made will …

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 …

A LOCAL initiative hoping to bring some Christmas cheer to older people and families is appealing for donations to ensure it can support as many people as possible this festive season. The appeal is being organised by the online Clare Free to a Good Home community, with founder Ennis’ Tina Whelan saying “We just want to give people a lift and are grateful for any donations, the more we raise the better. “Something which might seem very small to one person, is something very big to somebody else.” This is the third year that the project has been undertaken by Clare Free to a Good Home, a social media group which allows people to donate unwanted items to others. Last year the fundraiser supported making the Christmas dreams come true for five Clare families, with even more families receiving donations of turkeys and hams among other items. This year there is a particular focus on helping older people this year, …

A KILLALOE woman has taken on an incredible challenge of completing a 250km triathlon within 24 hours in aid of two charities. On August 28, 27-year-old Jade Hoynes will be embark on the gruelling test which will consist of a 4km swim of Lough Derg, a 200km cycle, finally finishing off with a 46km run. The demanding undertaking is to raise funds and awareness for two charities that are incredibly important to both Jade and her family, Samaritans Ireland and Sejare Adult Respite House, Limerick. Jade, who works within her family business Palm Free Irish Soap had previously taken part in RTÉ’s Iron Mind series with Niall ‘Bressie’ Breslin. The series enlisted the help of experts in everything from psychology to nutrition as four ordinary people with their own mental health challenges took on the task of competing in a half-Ironman event. It was this event that encouraged her to take on this newest triathlon challenge. Jade recalls her first …

A QUIN man undergoing break-through cancer therapy in Germany has issued an emotional ‘thank you’ to those who are helping to fund his treatment. Johnny Hassett of Ballyhannon House, who is a very popular and highly respected member of the equestrian community, received a lung cancer diagnosis in June and has been having chemotherapy under the care of a leading specialist in a German hospital in recent weeks. The 49-year-old specialises in producing ‘breeze up’ horses, who are galloped or ‘breezed’ in front of prospective buyers. Since his diagnosis, members of the sector have rallied around Johnny and raised over €250,000 through a Gofundme campaign. The fundraising drive was started by members of the The Breeze-up Consignors Association (BUCA) to help with medical bills and has resulted in a huge outpouring of goodwill in Clare and much further afield. John Cullinan of BUCA told The Champion that the figure raised to-date indicates the high regard in which the Quin man …

AN EPIC fundraising run in memory of the late beloved son of a west Clare family has made an impressive €45,000 for a number of charities. Ailish and John McMahon lost their son Cormac in May 2019 and wanted to do some good in his memory by raising much-needed funds for charities. The four charities to benefit will be The Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation, LauraLynn Ireland’s Children’s Hospice and Bumbleance, the official Children’s National Ambulance Service. The event, dubbed 4 10ks 4 Cormac saw John completing four 10-kilometre runs in just one day, four hours apart; something he achieved with flying colours on May 15 this year. Last week, the family handed over the proceeds of the fundraiser at West Clare Sports and Fitness, with the successful campaign raising over €45,000. The final figure came both from online fundraising through a account and a sponsorship cards sent out around west Clare, including Cooraclare, where John is originally from and …