Lend A Hand – Five Great Irish Causes To Get Behind This Week

Every week in the Her.ie offices we are inundated with requests from people asking us to help them promote their charity events. While every cause is worthwhile, unfortunately we can’t get around to all of them and so for that reason, we have decided to put together some of these events from around the country. Every week, we will feature five events you should get behind or get involved with over the next few months. There are tonnes of amazing organisations in this country, let’s help them out. 1. Tesco Community Fund Initiative Tesco Ireland today announced the launch of an exciting new initiative, Tesco Community Fund, which will see €1million donated annually to local good causes in the communities around each of its 146 stores throughout Ireland. Every six weeks, each Tesco store will donate up to €1,000 (€500 in smaller stores) between three local good causes in its community. Customers will decide how the funding is shared by voting for their preferred cause in store. Up to 3,500 local good causes in Ireland will receive a donation through the Tesco Community Fund over the next year. From this week, every time customers shop in their local Tesco store, they will receive a token of goodwill to place in the donation box of the local good cause they would most like to support. Every six weeks, the number of tokens is counted and up to €1,000 is distributed proportionally between three local good causes. The more tokens a local good cause gets the larger share of the donation they will receive. Tesco is today calling on customers, local good causes, charities, schools, youth and sports groups from across the country that could benefit from donations to get involved by completing a nomination form in their local Tesco store. 2. Take The Rocky Road To Dublin For Console Sporting groups, runners and walkers are being invited to dress like movie star Rocky and join the Great Rocky Run in aid of the national suicide prevention and bereavement charity Console. The run starts at Monivea in Galway and travels along the old Dublin to Galway road picking up participants in towns along the way including Athenry, Ballinasloe, Athlone, Kilbeggan, Kinegad, Enfield, Maynooth and Dublin. Nationwide professional suicide prevention and bereavement charity Console offers counselling services and 24-hour helpline support to people in crisis and those bereaved by suicide (Freephone 1800 247 247) The charity has full-time counselling centres in Limerick Cork, Dublin, Wexford, Galway, Kerry and Mayo. It also offers services in Kildare and Athlone and has opened a service in London. Console can be reached at any time on freephone 1800 247 247 and many resources and useful information can be found at www.console.ie. 3. Walk from Galway to Sligo for Donal Parsons Donal Parsons is a 7 year old boy from Strandhill in Sligo who In October 2013 was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma, a very rare Children’s cancer. Donal is currently receiving 18 months of intensive treatment at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin, Dublin. The fundraising group will be doing a big walk on the August Bank Holiday weekend, starting on Friday the 1st of August, leaving from their work in Ballybrit and finishing up in Strandhill on Monday the 4th of August. For more information, their FB page is https://facebook.com/Strand.hill.i.am and our donation page is http://fundraise.donalparsonstrust.com/fundraiser/29246_tracy-and-aoife-s-fundraising-page.html. 4. First solo cyclist to partake in Wild Atlantic Way cycle for Irish Heart Foundation. Kildare native Tony Quinn is undertaking a solo charity challenge in aid of the Irish Heart Foundation, and will be joined for the final leg of the cycle by former Donegal GAA footballer Kevin Cassidy. Kevin and Tony launched the cycle in the picturesque surroundings of Slieve League, county Donegal and retired to Nancy’s of Ardara which is one of the many pubs that will accommodate Tony during the cycle. The cycle will highlight the significance of the Irish pub to the Wild Atlantic Way as not only will pubs be central to serving tourists along the route, but it will also cater for all of Tony’s requirements along the way. If you would like to donate money for the cause, you can log on to Tony's page here. Solo cyclist Tony Quinn pictured with Wild Atlantic Way Charity Cycle ambassador and former Donegal All-Star footballer Kevin Cassidy at the launch of the charity cycle at Slieve League, Co. Donegal. 5. The Official Jeff Buckley Tribute Night Ireland to raise funds for the Niall Mellon Township Trust This year’s Official Jeff Buckley Tribute Night Ireland will be held on Saturday 23rd of August in Whelan's, 20 years to the day that Jeff played the venue on the night his debut album Grace was released worldwide. Whelans is also celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Fusing melodic rock, soul, jazz and pop, this concert is sure to be a particularly memorable one and will feature the hugely talented Dave McGuinness (formerly of Lir) and Mystery White Boys, who will be joined throughout the night by a host of very special guests. Doors open at 7.30pm.  Tickets on sale 9am Friday 25th July priced €20 from - whelanslive.com or locall 1890200078 The Official Jeff Buckley Tribute Night Ireland raises funds for the Niall Mellon Township Trust who return this year to South Africa to build schools in Imizamo Yethu and in tribute to Nelson Mandela in the Eastern Cape. If you have a charity event you would like us to help with, please send us an email to Hello@Her.ie or to Sue.Murphy@Her.ie