Mary going round and round the garden to raise funds for Open Door
MARY Hackett has committed to doing 100 laps around her garden in Greystones, at five minutes per lap, in order to raise funds for Open Door
She says that the centre will need those funds to get back up and running, once restrictions are lifted.
She is one of the founders of Open Door and has already raised more than €1,200 for the cause.
‘Over the past two years I have been attending Open Door as a member, enjoying the camaraderie of the other members there, enjoying the art, and of course the physio,’ said Mary, who is aiming to be finished by her 83rd birthday on May 13.
‘We have a subvention from the HSE for our salaries but after that everything has to be funded by ourselves through donations and fundraising.’
She said that three of their major fundraising events will be cancelled or postponed for this year ‘Our June lunch, in its seventh year, is over booked now at 100. That won’t go ahead. Our golf classic in September, again, I doubt that will go ahead and of course the mini marathon. It’s not quite cancelled but it’s postponed.
‘So any money would be very much appreciated because without your funds we couldn’t run the centre and members would just be sitting there doing nothing. She said that they are looking forward to getting back again, ‘whenever the world settles down’.
She started on Sunday, April 26, and had done 40 laps in the first three days of her mission.
Mary started Open Door with Olive Quinn in the early 1980s. They started with rented premises, Fatima House, near the train station in Bray, with just eight or nine members.
They then purchased premises on Boghall Road, and eventually moved to the current premises on Vevay Road around 20 years ago. ‘We now have up to 30 people per day coming in,’ said Mary.
Some are collected by one of their three buses and others make their own way in.
Their day starts coming up to 10 a.m. with a coffee, and the crossword is printed out for each member. ‘ There is great camaraderie with everyone doing the crossword,’ said Mary.
Then there is art, pottery or physio from 11 and people go to whatever they are involved with on that day.
Then there is lunch, another hour after lunch, and then people are collected.
Mary said that she started attending in recent years with the onset of Dincel arthritis, as well as the loss of sight in one eye. ‘I was golfing up to that stage,’ she said. ‘It just hit me.’ Her mobility was affected and Open Door plays a large part in ensuring she has as good a life as possible.
‘I exercise a lot both at home and at Open Door,’ she said. ‘I can go out on my own as far as Centra with the rollator,’ she said. She is also starting a programme in Loughlinstown to work on her balance when using her stick, although that is on hold for the moment.
Mary said that the benefits of Open Door are tremendous. She spoke of one man who was able to stand and make his cup of coffee after a couple of months coming to the centre. This was something he couldn’t do beforehand. She puts this down to increased confidence, as well as the physiotherapy making the muscles stronger.
She said there are also gifted artists at Open Door, who never did drawing or painting before, and have discovered talents they didn’t realise they had.
As for cocooning, Mary is not phased. ‘I’ve had two years of being nearly cocooned anyway,’ she said.
‘I can’t drive as I lost my peripheral vision. I have been at home a lot, aside from bridge and Open Door. I can’t garden, which I love.’ Nonetheless, she is cheerful. ‘I’m not as affected as a lot of people,’ she said. ‘I’m missing the bridge, which they’re talking about setting up online.’ Her wonderful friends in bridge ensure that she is collected and brought home, both from the card game and one of her days at Open Door.
Mary is also a great fan of reading, is in a book club, and is enjoying getting through plenty of books.
Meanwhile, donations can be made on idonate.ie on the Open Door Day Centre page.
‘We owe a great thank you to all the community for their support,’ said Mary.