North West 10k Committee presents €52,192 between three local charities
A huge effort had been put in by the Cara House Family Resource Centre, Letterkenny Community Childcare Centre and the Kilmacrennan, Termon, Gartan, Churchill and Trentagh Community First Responders Group
The presentation of cheques by the North West 10k Committee took place on Monday evening in the Mount Errigal Hotel with a total of €52,192 raised from the 27th staging of the charity run and walk last month.
Mr Martin said that a huge effort had been put in by the Cara House Family Resource Centre, Letterkenny Community Childcare Centre and the Kilmacrennan, Termon, Gartan, Churchill and Trentagh Community First Responders Group and that was reflected in the amount of money raised.
“We all have been on a very big journey since the launch back in February. It was important at the outset for the three charities to know what was involved in order for it to be a success for all of them. We emphasised the need to get to work quickly with ideas for fundraisers that would boost the proceeds ahead of the actual run and walk. They got stuck in and it was full-on for three months. We were all glad to see all that come to an end on the 6th of May. As well as the money raised it has given the charities a lot of media exposure and public awareness of what they do on a day-to-day basis” Mr Martin said.
The bottom line is the health and safety of everyone taking part. That was achieved again with the help of the Gardai under Sergeant Eunan Walsh, all the stewards and marshalls who gave off their time to help us on the day. Thanks also to the Donegal Volunteer Centre for providing people to do various jobs and the Red Cross. Liam O’Donnell and all the team at Letterkenny Community Centre as always gave us full cooperation with the use of the Marquee for the pre-registrations and setting up inside on the day of the event” Mr Martin.
The support of the five sponsors Brian McCormick Inter-Sport, Century Complex, Donegal Daily, the Mount Errigal Hotel and the Value Centre was acknowledged on Monday night by Mr Martin. “These five charities have been with us for a number of years. Their generous input allows us as a committee to give the maximum possible to the three charities. I also want Terry and Conor McEniff and the Mount Errigal Hotel for the use of rooms for meetings, the launch and the presentations here tonight. I also want at this point to thank very much Donegal Person of the Year Moya Brennan who was with us on the Bank Holiday Monday to officially start the event and make the presentations to the winners afterwards” Mr Martin said.
The Kilmacrennan, Termon, Gartan, Churchill and Trentagh Community First Responders Group are a new group setup at the end of last year with the aim of helping members of the public that suffer cardiac arrest or other medical emergencies in those areas. They are aiming to facilitate the installation and maintenance of AEDs for public access in the areas that they cover.This will be achieved through the CFR Group’s trained volunteers. The Group will also provide CPR/AED/CFR training to interested members of the public.
The work of Cara House includes activities, courses and interest groups as well as services. It provides a valuable resource for the whole Letterkenny community from young to old, especially at periods in their lives when individuals are vulnerable. They are currently fundraising to upgrade their community van for making deliveries.
Letterkenny Community Childcare Centre CLG has been in operation for over 40 years. They have over 150 children attending daily, supporting around 130 families. Currently they have a waiting list of 500 children and hope to relocate to increase capacity