Raff ling off their ‘dream house’ after daughter’s diagnosis
A FAMILY is raffling off their dream home to raise funds and publicity for a children’s charity after their daughter was diagnosed with leukaemia.
Mark Keoghan, originally from Three Castles in Freshford, Co. Kilkenny, is keen to assist a charity that helped his daughter, Mollie, who is about to undergo a major round of chemotherapy.
He and his wife Lucy are selling raffle tickets for €5 each in the hope that 130,000 entries will raise money for their family, with 5% of the proceeds going to the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group, a charity close their heart.
They have sold 41,000 tickets and have 89,000 left to go to reach their target. ‘If 45,000 people buy two tickets each we will get there. So far the response from around the world has been absolutely fantastic,’ said Mr Keoghan.
‘Mollie loves all the publicity, it is like she is famous. Every time we sell another 1,000 tickets, we do a little dance together, so she is very much involved.’
Mollie, aged seven, lives in Derby, England, with her parents and her brothers, Alfie, six, and Teddy, four. After receiving initial treatment locally, she is now getting expert help at the children’s oncology section of Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham.
The house up for grabs is a fourbedroom barn-style home on the side of a hill, 13km from Kilkenny city. It was built in 2010/11, using limestone from the family land.
It also boasts modern features such as underfloor heating and a pressurised water system fed from its own 120-metre-deep well.
And for nature lovers, there is the added bonus of deer-spotting – with does and stags often seen wandering through the garden from the adjacent forest.
Mr Keoghan said they are simply doing what they can to help Mollie. ‘It [the diagnosis] has completely changed our priorities,’ he said. ‘ We said, “OK, get rid of the dream house. Life can be short: forget about bricks and mortar. Use the money to go away with the kids or spend more time with them.” Every moment is precious but we will come through it to the other side.’
They are hoping the publicity will help raise awareness about the help available for children who are diagnosed with life-changing illnesses such as cancer and the more than 90% survival rate for children with Mollie’s condition.
The family intend to use the bulk of the money raised on their children.
People can enter the raffle f or the house at raffall. com/ featured-raffles/live.