Charity fundraiser will respond to staff suggestions

A fundraising initiative by workers at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Mullingar aims to support local charities while helping the environment.

Multi Task Attendants working in Post Natal, Ante Natal and Delivery in the health facility are launching a scheme to collect returnable cans and bottles to raise money for a number of charities.

Karen Lawlor, one of the organisers, explained the idea to the Examiner: “We are launching a hospital-wide recycling initiative to collect returnable cans and bottles, with all proceeds benefiting various charities.

“Our first goal is to raise €500 for Aoibheann’s Pink Tie, a charity dedicated to supporting families of children undergoing cancer treatment. Once we reach that milestone, our next beneficiary will be FirstLight, an organisation providing support to families who have experienced the sudden loss of a child.”

Karen says the programme is in full swing: “To make participation easy, we’ve placed green recycling bins throughout the hospital. These bins are designated for collecting returnable cans and bottles.”

The scheme will support a range of charities: “A suggestion box will be located outside the hospital canteen. We will encourage everyone to submit the name of a charity they (staff) would like us to support next.

Each time we raise €500, we’ll select a new charity from their suggestions.

“Let’s work together to make a positive impact – one can and bottle at a time,” Karen concluded.

Aoibheann’s Pink Tie

Aoibheann’s Pink Tie, Ireland’s National Children’s Cancer Charity was set up in 2010 by Mick Rochford and Jimmy Norman after the death of Jimmy’s daughter Aoibheann from a rare type of cancer.

Aoibheann was only eight years old.

Jimmy and his family had large support from friends and family.

At Aoibheann’s funeral the men wore pink ties so the name Aoibheann’s Pink Tie was formed in her memory to remedy the lack of support to other families on the ward battling cancer.

Mick and Jimmy started raising funds for one family at a time and have gained huge support over the years to now become the go-to children’s charity helping thousands of families over the years with their incredible team, and proudly supporting every family with a childhood cancer diagnosis.