Staff at EUROSPAR in Dromara have gotten fully behind a charity partnership with Cancer Fund for Children, raising an incredible £19,500 for the cause to date.
Staff at EUROSPAR in Dromara have gotten fully behind a charity partnership with Cancer Fund for Children, raising an incredible £19,500 for the cause to date.
The total comes after the store’s recent coffee morning added £2,000 to the existing fundraising pot which will all go towards funding vital services for children and young people affected by cancer across Northern Ireland.
Irene Hunter, Customer Advisor and designated Community Representative, from the store has played an instrumental role in collecting this enormous total, organising many fundraising activities throughout the year.
Irene sees every season as an opportunity to help support the charity, overseeing a ‘Santa’s Grotto’ and Summer BBQ every year which are always well-supported by the rest of her colleagues. Suppliers to the store donate food and drinks while store management gift raffle prizes and vouchers to help increase the total amount raised.
With the support of her colleagues, Irene has also organised many raffles in store and can always count on the generosity of the people of Dromara to make these fundraising efforts worthwhile.
“When my father passed away, I really wanted to do something to say thank you for the wonderful care he had received so I began to fundraise for the Alzheimer’s Society,” she said.
“I saw first-hand how big an impact I could make to the charity just by doing something small so when I heard about the charity partnership between EUROSPAR and Cancer Fund for Children, I knew that I had to keep going!
“Our customers in Dromara have been incredibly supportive so it’s no surprise that our coffee morning raised the highest total. I feel so proud to work with such a caring community. To think we’ve raised almost £20,000 is phenomenal but I’ve no plans to stop now and I’m already organising another big event for later in the year.”
The money raised will help Cancer Fund for Children to continue to deliver a wide range of services to children and families affected by cancer. It could provide financial support to families who have to travel overseas to access vital treatment or allow a family some valuable and quality time together at the charity’s therapeutic short-break centre, Daisy Lodge.
Andy Boal, Community Fundraiser at Cancer Fund for Children welcomed the generous donation by the store adding, “On behalf of everyone at Cancer Fund for Children, I’d like to express our huge thanks to the staff and customers at EUROSPAR in Dromara for being so dedicated to their fundraising efforts.
“We are so grateful for the support we have received from right across EUROSPAR’S network of stores in Northern Ireland and hope to continue our relationship for many years to come.”
Also expressing thanks to the Dromara team was Brand Manager for EUROSPAR at Henderson Group, Catherine McAlynn “We’ve been completely overwhelmed by the generosity and enthusiasm of our staff and shoppers since we launched this partnership back in 2011. I think showing our staff and retailers the wonderful work being done by Cancer Fund for Children through facilitated trips to Daisy Lodge, has really inspired them to get behind the fundraising campaign. To date, EUROSPAR in Northern Ireland has raised more than £898,000 for the charity which we hope we can continue to build upon in years to come.”
To find out more about what’s going on in EUROSPAR Dromara’s or to find out how you can get involved, visit the store’s facebook page www.facebook.com/EUROSPARDromara/