A huge €7,000 raised by locals for Irish Wheelchair Association
AFTER months of planning and plenty of preparations, a team of keen locals climbed the peek of Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain on the continent of Africa.
They had the support of the county behind them, and since they returned home they have donated a total of €7,000 raised for the Irish Wheelchair Association for their efforts.
The group, made up of eight climbers (five men and three women), all from the Gorey, Kilmuckridge and Enniscorthy areas have become familiar with service users over the last few months and were on hand at the centre in Ballycanew to hand over the cheque.
Mary O’Connor of the Irish Wheelchair Association said that her team are very grateful, and that all funds will be used to help with ongoing fundraising for a new bus.
‘ The work the group put in was absolutely fantastic. We can’t thank them enough for choosing to complete this hike for the Irish Wheelchair Association. We are tirelessly fundraising for a new bus for Wexford which we desperately need so this €7,000 is helping us get closer to this target,’ she said.
The cause was chosen to benefit as the grandmother of one of the members, Sean Byrne, from Kilmuckridge, attends the centre, and as part of the training proceedings, the group has been trekking in the Blackstairs and Comeragh Mountains as well as County Kerry.
They also organised some interesting fundraisers, from art exhibitions to sponsorship cards.
The group flew to Tanzania last month and the challenging climb took a number of days, departing on October 15 and returning to Gorey on October 25.
‘A lot of business gave such generous donations, and prior to the event the we held many fundraising events. Wreckless Skate Park, Partridges, the Crosses and the Ramble Inn were a great help during fundraising events.
‘We really must highlight the other near 50 businesses who gave us sponsorship, which were from all around Gorey, Carlow, Courtown, Ballycanew, Enniscorthy and Wexford,’ a spokesperson for the group said.