The Cliona Ring Foundation
The Cliona Ring Foundation gives financial support for non medical assistance to the families of children who are facing life-threatening illness and is named after Cliona who lost her very bravely fought battle against illness in December 2006. After being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour in 1998, her parents, Brendan and Terry discovered that in addition to the emotional drain on families in their situation, even families with good medical coverage find that lodging, food and other "hidden" non medical expenses can prove quite a hardship during an already traumatic time and it is to fund these "hidden costs" that the foundation was established in 2007. Few things impact a family more than a diagnosis of serious illness. Every member of the family and every aspect of their lives will be affected such as relationships, money, time and energy.
A number of fund-raising events were organised in the last number of years to raise funds and to date over €250k has been distributed to the families of children with life threatening illness. Perhaps the largest fund raiser in 2010 was the Cliona Ring cycle with over 200 cyclists taking part. Examples of how the Foundation has helped families include a donation was made to a family who had to make numerous trips from Munster to Dublin for rehabilitation for their sick child, one family were able to have a family holiday in Trabolgan and another family decided to have professional photographs taken.
Click here for information on how to donate.
Aware
Aware's mission is to create a society where people with depression and their families are understood and supported, are free from stigma and have access to a broad range of appropriate therapies to enable them to reach their full potential.
Aware is a voluntary organisation formed in 1985 by a group of interested patients, relatives and mental health professionals, whose aim was to assist that section of the population whoses lives are directly affected by depression. 400,000 different people suffer from depression in Ireland at any one time but many hide their condition and never get help. Sadly, over 500 people take their own life each year. Since its foundation in 1985, Aware has been working energetically to bring support to depression sufferers and their families, and to dispel the myths and misunderstandings of this devastating illness.
Objectives
- To educate the public on the nature, extent and consequences of depression.
- To provide emotional and practical support to those affected by depression and related disorders.
- To support research into the development and treatment of depression and related issues.
Click here for information on how to donate.
Baby Max Wings of Love Fund
BABY MAX-Wings of Love Fund was founded by Darina Ni Chuinneagain & Declan Donnelly following the tragic death of their son Max to Meningitis B and Meningicoccal Septicaemia.
The first goal of the fund was to purchase a badly needed ‘HAEMOFILTRATION MACHINE’ for Temple Street, Childrens Hospital that they did not have at the time and had to borrow from another hospital. This was achieved and hundreds of children have to date come off this machine successfully.
Darina and Declan decided to take things a step further and make contact with all the Dublin Childrens Hospitals & Paediatric Units nationwide as to what vital medical equipment they were missing. As a result of these actions, the BABY MAX-Wings of Love Fund has to date purchased almost 1million worth of all types of necessary medical equipment for Hospitals/Hospices in Dublin, Mullingar, Sligo, Galway, Cork, Kerry, Limerick & Waterford to name but a few.
The consultants /medical staff will let the charity know exactly what they need and Darina and Declan will go directly to the medical equipment suppliers to order and purchase the equipment and get it into the hospitals as soon as possible.
In memory of Max and to help and save the lives of other children, Darina and Declan continue to purchase vital medical equipment for Hospitals/Hospices and Paediatric Units nationwide.
Click here for information on how to donate.
Barnardos
With more than 40 community based centres, national services, and links with partner organisations, Barnardos delivers programmes to help as many children and their families as they can in the following ways:
- Work with children & families - Their work is child-focused. They respond to the individual needs of each child and family, and aim to provide practical and professional supports to bring hope into situations where hope is sometimes lost.
- Specialist services - Barnardos offers a variety of specialised services to provide further support to children, parents and families, ranging from literacy support to assistance during difficult times such as coping with the death of a loved one to representing children in court.
- Campaign and lobby - Barnardos Advocacy works to protect the rights of children in Ireland by campaigning and lobbying to influence Government and decision makers.
- Training - Barnardos offers public and tailored courses in a variety of areas to childcare practitioners, parents, carers and all people working with children.
Share a Dream Foundation
Dreams are very special to all of us. The Share a Dream Foundation move heaven and earth to make a dream come true for a child who is terminally ill. Every effort is made to include the immediate family in the child’s dream. Those involved are helping to make the seemingly impossible become possible.
Family Time Away from it All
Every year the foundation receives requests from hundreds of sick and disabled children from all over Ireland to go on a special holiday, a concert, an outing and enjoy a little quality time away from hospitals and painful treatments. Share a Dream organise a family break for hundreds of special children. The breaks are our opportunity to create a magical environment where these children don’t feel different, make lots of new friends and can take part in events they once thought were impossible.Holiday Homes
Many sick children and families cannot participate in the events organised because of their child’s illness but still long for a break away from the ongoing stress and trauma of their everyday lives. With this in mind Share a Dream offers a luxurious, private holiday home to accommodate their needs.National Children of Courage Awards and Dream Ball
Each year, Share a Dream Foundation honours eight special children by hosting the National Children of Courage Awards at its Annual Dream Ball. These children who have shown extraordinary courage and unbelievable determination to live life to the very best of their ability despite their serious illness or disability are chosen from hundreds of nominations received from around the country.Click here for information on how to donate.
Limerick Animal Welfare (LAW)
Limerick Animal Welfare is a registered charity, founded in 1983, dedicated to caring for abandoned and neglected animals in the Limerick area. Over the last five years alone they have saved more than 2000 animals. The aim is to promote the humane treatment of all animals, working towards a more compassionate society. LAW believes in educating young people about responsible pet ownership.
The organisation regularly gives talks to primary and secondary schools. In this way they hope to educate and inform the animal owners of tomorrow and encourage them to make kindness and respect for all animals a way of life. They aim never to destroy an animal unless it is so ill that we cannot alleviate its suffering. It is policy to spay/neuter all dogs and cats before rehoming. At any one time LAW cares for approximately 60 dogs and 30 cats. Phase One of the Sanctuary at Moorestown, Kilfinane, was finally completed in December 2007. The first isolation kennel for dogs opened its doors to the abandoned animals just before Christmas. LAW is most grateful to all the generous animal lovers who donated funds for this wonderful building. The Sanctuary now provides shelter for up to sixty dogs and puppies, fifty cats and kittens, numerous rabbits, goats, pigs, horses, ponies and donkeys.
The charity now faces the huge task of completing Phase Two of the Sanctuary Building Project, which is the main building. This is estimated to cost in the region of one million euro and will incorporate a rehoming area for dogs and another for cats. The plans also include offices, a veterinary clinic and living accommodation for staff. Phase Three, the final building will be the isolation kennel for cats and kittens.
Limerick Animal Welfare feels confident that with your support, the "Field of Dreams" will become a reality for all the homeless animals of Limerick city and county.
Click here for information on how to donate.
Children's Ark Unit, Regional Hospital, Limerick
The “Ark Project” is a scheme which develops, provides and maintains child friendly enhancements in the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick. These enhancements have been funded by public fund raising.
Temple St. Children's University Hospital
Temple Street Children's University Hospital was established in 1872 as a hospital for the poor children of Dublin. Now under the care of The Sisters of Mercy, it is one of the major paediatric hospitals catering for children from all over the country.
There is over 1000 skilled and dedicated staff at Temple Street, including 76 consultants. As a teaching hospital, it is one of the leading educators of paediatric nurses in Ireland and provides medical training for doctors at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Annually, there are over 125,000 attendances by children from every part of Ireland and the hospital has the country's biggest paediatric casualty unit with over 50,000 attending Accident and Emergency.
Temple Street leads the way across a variety of medical specialities. It is the national centre responsible for screening newborn babies for metabolic and genetic disorders. It is also the national centre for neurological, eye, craniofacial, kidney, airways and ENT disorders in children. The national meningitis reference library is also based in Temple Street. In addition, the Hospital provides specialised family support units in areas such as child sexual abuse and bereavement counselling and houses the National Sudden Infant Death Register.
The Fundraising Office was established to raise awareness and funding for projects within Temple Street Children's University Hospital. The office was established as Children's Fund for Health Ltd in 2000. Temple Street continues to rely on external support to assist it in the purchase of vital equipment and to help establish and fund research to ensure that the best service possible is provided to the children in its care.
Click here for information on how to donate.
