Toy appeal brings joy
A fundraiser to buy toys for children who might otherwise miss out at Christmas has proven a huge success for local mum Eilis O’Hagan who organised the appeal in memory of her baby son Danann who died two days before Chrismas 2018, aged just three weeks.
Eilis, who lives at Bellurgan Point with her husband Peter and children Sé and Nelly, decided last year to mark Danann’s first birthday by asking family and friends to bring a toy along to a special celebration in their home to be donated to charity. After someone suggested she post it on Facebook, she ended up with 147 toys and over €1,000 in donations which she donated to St Vincent de Paul and Women’s Aid.
This year due to the restrictions around COVID-19, she decided to move the event online, setting up page on iFundraise.ie and also asked people to donate vouchers for toy shops and supermarkets.
Eilis is overwhelmed by the response. ‘We raised €5,400 which is much more than last year. I can’t get over the generosity of people - it’s amazing, especially when some people are struggling this year as a lot of people were out of work for a period of the year.’
She divided the money between St Vincent de Paul and Dundalk Women’s Aid, presenting checks to both charities last week. Both charities have seen their fundraising efforts badly affected by the COVID-19 restrictions.
‘Both St Vincent de Paul and Women’s Aid are charities that work with children and do great work,’ she said.
She is delighted that she is able to do something positive in Danann’s name and to bring joy to other families.
Kevin Mulligan, Dundalk Area President of St Vincent, thanked Eilis for her wonderful donation which would, he said ‘ensure that children who otherwise wouldn’t get toys, will get them this Christmas.’
He revealed that the charity is seeing more people than ever turning to them for assistance this year, especially those who have found themselves out of work or on reduced incomes because of the pandemic.
Megan Bellew, support worker with Dundalk Women’s Aid also thanked Eilis and all who donated for their kindness and generosity. ‘We delighted to have been chosen as one of the charities to benefit from this very special event.’