Rainbow Unit gets a boost from Elvis
ELVIS IMPERSONATOR Alan Ennis drew a great crowd to his tribute act at the Talbot Hotel in Wexford last week. The evening was held to raise money for the autism unit at Scoil Mhuire in Coolcotts, known as the Rainbow Unit.
Every year Alan, originally from Kennedy Park, travels back to Wexford from London to perform a charity show of his choice.
‘I contacted the Rainbow Unit myself directly to see if they’d be interested in having me raise some money for them,’ said Alan.
One of the parents, Mary Ryan, said the tribute act gathered a massive audience and the night went very well.
‘The school and others helped out with the publicity and so far we have raised €1,705 and that will go directly towards the unit,’ said Mary. Alan said the Rainbow Unit is a brilliant cause and he will return again next year to do another fundraising show for them. Mary said: ‘We are delighted with the money as our unit needs funding. The unit is attached to the main school of Scoil Mhuire. We have 17 children with autism. There are four classes and the teachers provide a curriculum that they can adapt to and cope with. We do trips away so sometimes we go down town to go shopping or to a restaurant so they can learn life skills. ‘It is good for them but also good for people out there as they can see that it is fine to talk to them. We are all very grateful to Alan as we need money to keep it going.’