This article is from page 23 of the 2008-03-11 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 23 JPG
FUNDRAISING targets at Caher- calla Community Hospital are set to rise to €500,000 per year.
Speaking at the opening of the new €2.7 million extension at Cahercalla on Friday, fundraising co-ordina- tor Mary Moloney said a decision had been made to increase the target from €300,000 to €500,000.
She said, “All in all, we estimate that there are about 1,000 people giving time and effort in voluntary Support to the cause and its funding. With hospice care expanded to 10 beds, each of which costs €75,000 in overheads, the fundraising target has now increased from €300,000 to half a million euro per year.
“This presents us with an immense challenge and we are now, more than
ever, dependent on our volunteers, supporters and fundraisers to rise to this enormous task with us.”
Ms Moloney also revealed some of the unusual approaches to giving she has encountered in her seven years as fundraising co-ordinator for the Cahercalla hospice initiative. Caher- calla and a children’s hospital both benefitted substantially when a cou- ple decided to mark the occasion by donating their wedding gifts to the two good causes of their choice.
She said, “People are also making happy occasions a time for giving and thinking of those whose lives have been plunged into sadness.”
The mainstay support for Cahercal- la Hospice is the weekly draw which has been running for seven years and is supported by over 1,400 people every week.