Thank you to all the fantastic volunteers who participated in the ‘Choose Your Challenge’ fundraising event held this September. We had a great response and were able to raise vital funds to help support our programme. Their support is so greatly appreciated and we hope everyone had a fantastic time on their challenge. We were very fortunate to have great weather across most of Ireland on the weekend of the 19th and 20th September and we were very impressed with the activities people engaged in. Some swam in the sea, hiked across beautiful terrain, walked along scenic boardwalks, cycled along fantastic greenways, got a game of golf in, climbed trees and one family even built a polytunnel! Whatever people chose to do, we hope they had fun and felt happy and healthy in mind, body, and spirit.
As one participant, Catherine Collins, states:
“I thought the ‘Choose Your own Challenge’ idea was a very good one. I had done very little swimming due to travel restrictions etc. so I undertook a few swimming challenges of my own. I went to a few beaches and increased my swims from 20 mins to 50 mins over three swims. I hope to do this again next summer and maybe get a few more volunteers on board. I am always happy to support this charity. It is inspired by great generosity of spirit emanating from great loss. Keep up the good work!”
Jacinta’s Smile was founded to provide children and young adults with supports to address the loss of their sibling. Many of the bereavement activities that we would normally undertake have had to be cancelled. Although we had visions of meeting you and your family on a fun, adventure-filled outing, we’ve had to cancel many plans due to Covid-19 social distancing restrictions. However, we will not be deterred!
This year, we are organising the ‘Choose Your Challenge’ fundraiser on the 19th and 20th of September which will enable participants to stay active, get involved in an activity of their choosing—and importantly—raise vital funds for our charity. We all know that Covid-19 has had a major impact on young people’s mental well-being and we have found that when families have been asked to isolate at home, it really compounds the grief they feel when there is an empty seat at the table where their sibling should have been. Choose Your Challenge encourages people of all ages to get involved in a physical activity that will positively impact their mind, bodies, and relationship with those that accompany them on this challenge whilst commemorating the memory and spirit of those who have passed.
We would appreciate it if you would undertake this fundraising activity solo, with family and/or with friends. If you would like a sponsorship card to help us fundraise, we will be happy to send one out to you. This would also be a great activity for young people to undertake to get them back into healthy social circles (while still taking the appropriate precautions to properly social distance!). If it’s kayaking, cycling, running or just plain walking, engaging in this fundraising activity fits the needs of everyone as you get to decide what to do!
Please visit us at our Eventbrite page to register for the event! We’ll happily share pictures that you take on the day and post them on our social media network. Thank you so much for your support and please feel free to share the attached poster with your friends and family!
