The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Mary and Olive help to raise thousands for Kerry Hospice
WHILE for many of us, walking became an important staple of our lock-down lives, one pair of siblings took it to a whole other level this month, each walking over 100km in aid of their chosen charity, The Kerry Hospice Foundation.
Mary Brick along with her sister, Olive, on top of juggling families and full-time jobs, racked up the impressive mileage over the month of June. Even more impressive, though, was the €3,666 they have raised for the Hospice along the way.
Speaking to The Kerryman about the challenge, Mary said the initiative came together one day while she and Olive were out walking. She added that choosing the Kerry Hos- pice as their charity of choice was an easy decision to make.
“The main motivation was how lucky we were to be able to get up in the morning and go out walking. We were thinking of all the people who can’t do that right now,” said Mary.
After initially setting a target amount of €300, they have well and truly surpassed that goal now.
Mary admitted that she and Olive had both been blown away by the response.
“It’s phenomenal. Honestly,
I felt a bit emotional about it last night,” she said.
“The kindness and the generosity of the people has been amazing. I think that it reflects the importance of the work that Kerry Hospice do,” she continued.
“Everyone has had some interaction with them or knows somebody [who has]. All their events had been cancelled, and I think it’s very important that we get out and we do these things for them because they can’t at the moment,” she said.
So fantastic has the response been to what they have been doing, the sisters have decided to each add another 50km onto their goal, meaning that by the end of their challenge, the pair will have walked a whopping 150km in aid of the Hospice.
Anyone wishing to donate to Olive and Mary’s fundraiser can do so through the relevant link, which is currently up on The Kerryman Facebook and Twitter pages.