THE generosity of the Blessington community was on full show earlier this month as they helped raised a whopping €13,000 for Aoibheann’s Pink Tie – the highest amount raised at the long-running event.
stream of volunteers and eager donators flowed through Hennessy’s pub throughout the day, with community members eager to support the national children’s cancer charity by making cash donations, buying delicious cakes and purchasing tickets to a bumper raffle.
Star of the show was Alannah Hill from Blessington, who cut 14 inches off her hair and raised over €1,600 in personal donations. The Gaelscoil na Lochanna student’s noble gesture was inspired by her best friend Caoilainn Keogh, whose sister Aoife (12) was diagnosed with cancer at just six weeks old.
Commending Alannah and the Blessington community on their generosity, fundraiser organiser and Aoife’s grand-aunt Catherine Behan said: “It was an absolutely amazing day, and we were flabbergasted by the response from the community.
“From before 11 a.m. until 2.30 p.m. it was just a stream of people coming and going from the pub all day. We were shocked when we saw the rain, because we’ve never had it on the day of the event before, so we thought we might not have a great turnout. Boy, were we wrong!
“We’re just doing a count now, and we haven’t processed all the cash payments through Revolut yet, but we reckon we’re in and around the €13,000 mark, which is just phenomenal. At the last one we held, which would have been three years ago this September, we raised €10,200. Little did we think that that we would outdo ourselves, especially with the financial pressures people are under.
“The amount of cakes that were donated, we just couldn’t believe it. Every time the tables started to empty, they were filled again. There weren’t any left by the end of it, let me tell you. I didn’t even get to buy any myself.
“The teas and coffees were on the go all the time, all thanks to our hosts Ronan and Sinéad Hennessy, who were simply fantastic on the day.
“Sinéad was up at 6.30 in the morning baking delicious scones, which she later served with jam and cream. A big thanks to Niall and Keith for providing the music too.
“The raffle was a resounding success as well. We only started selling raffle tickets on Wednesday, because we were waiting on them to be delivered, so it wasn’t as though we’d been selling them for months beforehand. A book of three tickets cost a fiver, so you can imagine how many people bought tickets to generate that massive total.
“We had some fabulous prizes donated to the raffle. There was a fantastic package at Tulfarris Hotel & Golf Resort, signed Leinster and Wicklow jerseys, a fabulous painting by a local artist, a monster hamper and VIP tickets to the ‘Late Late Show’ that absolutely everyone wanted to win.
“Our little star on the day was Alannah, of course. The amount of people that were coming in with envelopes with her name on it was just tremendous. It was lovely to see the cards with her friends’ names on them coming in, with donations of €2, €5, even 50c – it all counted.
“A lot of people would know Alannah and her family in the area, but she did plenty of work herself, going around knocking on doors. We couldn’t be prouder of her.”
After cutting her hair, Alannah will now generously donate her flowing mane to the international Rapunzel Foundation, a charity that collects hair to make suction wigs for children and adults with alopecia.
Echoing Catherine’s sentiments, Alannah’s mother Aoife Hill-O’Neill was full of praise for her big-hearted daughter, saying: “Alannah did really great on the day and I was so proud of her.
“She was a little bit nervous at first, with all the people looking at her, but she held Caoilainn’s hand through it all and she was delighted with the result in the end.
“She raised around €1,600 on her own, which is more than we ever could’ve imagined. The hair is actually ready to be posted off to the Rapunzel Foundation here this morning.
“Her hair is cut up to her shoulders now, and she’s really happy with how it looks. It was very, very long.”
Credit:Source link
