Mullingar firefighters raise €3,800 during ‘Movember’
Mullingar Firefighters raised €3,800 for mental health services by growing moustaches over the month of November. The ‘Movember’ fundraiser has become an annual event and the crew at Mullingar Fire Station first took part in 2013.
Sub-Officer Eric Smyth, who was one of 14 firefighters in Mullingar to take part, said: “We’re delighted with the response, we’ve taken in three-fold what we got the last time around, 10 years ago.
“It’s a really good idea for raising money for charity, it’s an easy one to do. We just grow the moustaches, but the support has been great from people.”
The crew met on December 1 for a ceremonial shave. “We had a night in Clarke’s at the end to shave them off. We got two barbers up from Daly’s Barber’s to do it and it was a bit of craic,” said Mr Smyth. “Well, we all shaved it off bar one anyway. There was one lad who liked the look of it and he said he was going to keep it!”
Mr Smyth said the money raised is going towards HUGS@Home, which provides support to the partners of emergency service workers going through PTSD. “It trains people how to cope and treat post traumatic stress and how to deal with it. It’s a unique charity but a great cause,” he said.
“It was great to do it and in fairness, we got a huge response from people. Some lads got great money each, hundreds, and thankfully the people of Mullingar are very generous.”