Following the launch of our Charity Challenge last year, in which we aim to raise €20,000 for a host of charitable causes, our colleagues have been hard at work, crawling through mud, baking cakes and throwing themselves out of planes, among other activities all in a bid to help us raise as money money for charity as possible.
A year on since the start of our challenge, we have so far managed to raise €7,096.02 towards our target and along the way have helped to support 8 different charities! That is a fantastic achievement by all our colleagues and an effort they can all be proud of. To help celebrate their success, we are going to look back across all the fundraising efforts of the past year as well as highlighting the fantastic work carried out by each charity they helped to support to date.
Our charity fundraising started back at our 20th birthday celebrations at the horse racing, where a series of charity bets were placed and helped us to raise €164.80 for our first charity, MapAction. MapAction is a humanitarian mapping charity, whose specialist teams help to save lives and minimise suffering by making the response to humanitarian emergencies as targeted, efficient and effective as possible. They carry out crucial work across the globe, supporting a host of different agencies during the aftermath of a disaster by supplying vital information, gathered from the scene in map form.
Thanks to a series of other fundraising activities, including bake sales, bubble football and casual Friday’s, our colleagues across all departments helped to raise a total of €1,531.56 to support MapAction and enable them to continue undertaking their vital work.
Last Christmas, colleagues across all departments took part in Christmas jumper day. Everyone was encouraged to wear their Christmas jumpers to work with a prize awarded to the owner of the worst jumper! The day was held in a bid to raise funds for the charity Save the Children, and thanks to the efforts of all our colleagues we were able to raise a fantastic €625.27. Save the Children, is a fantastic charity that works around the globe running world–class programmes, saving children’s lives and challenging world leaders to keep their promises to provide children with a brighter future.
December also saw two of our colleagues undertake different challenges in an effort to raise funds for charities close to their hearts. Caroline Keily helped her favourite charity, Mo Chara Animal Rescue, raise much needed funds by selling calendars for the year ahead. Mo Chara Animal Rescue is a local charity which exists to improve the welfare of all Irish animals and particularly those that are abused neglected and abandoned. Due to all the hard work that Caroline put in she was able to raise a fantastic €548 for her charity. Ian Hand took on an altogether different challenge in December as he participated in the Decembeard fundraising campaign. An annual event, Decembeard encourages men across Ireland to grow a beard during the month of December, to help raise funds for the Men’s Cancer Alliance. The charity’s aim is to increase awareness about men’s cancers, treatments and supports available and to raise funds to create and maintain a number of men’s cancer support initiatives. Thanks to Ian’s efforts he was able to raise a tremendous €310 for the charity.
If there is one item that Mallon Technology colleagues love then that is cake! Bake Sales were a popular fundraising approach this year, helping to satisfy our colleagues cravings as well as raise funds for some amazing charities. Back in April, our colleagues in Dublin organised their annual Great Irish Bake Sale in aid of Temple Street Children’s Hospital. The hospital’s one important goal is to help save the lives of critically ill children in Ireland now and for generations to come. The delicious bakes that the team had on display proved too much temptation for some and resulted in a huge €958 being raised for the charity. The team in Cookstown followed this up with a bake sale of their own in July. The team raised funds for the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children, a local charity which provides practical, emotional and financial support to children and young people aged 0–24 affected by cancer and their families. Thanks to their baking and eating skills the team raised an excellent €357.65.
June and July also saw two teams of colleagues push their bodies to the limit to raise funds for their favourite charities. Firstly, Gerard Rudden, Jennifer O’Conner and Tracey Connolly tackled the Hell & Back endurance obstacle course, known as Ireland’s toughest mental & physical challenge. Raising funds for Lily’s Dog Rescue, a small home–based animal rescue and re–homing charity which specialises in the rehabilitation and re–homing of dogs, cats and horses. The team put their bodies on the line and were richly rewarded when they realised they had raised a brilliant €1,000 for the charity. Finally, Claire Redmond and Kieran Hyland jumped head first out of a plane as part of their efforts to raise fund for Midland’s Simon Community. The charity works in communities throughout Ireland to provide the best possible care, accommodation and support for people experiencing homelessness. Thanks to their reckless endeavour, the pair raised an amazing €1,765.54 for the charity.
A huge thank you must be given to all those who helped to organise, take part in or support any of our colleagues charity events over the past year, we couldn’t have raised the amount we did with out all of you! It has been a truly amazing year and we look forward to supporting all our colleagues in the year ahead as we work towards our €20,000 target. Below is a gallery featuring some of the highlights of the past year and if you wish to keep up–to–date with our challenge, you can follow all our activities, event and announcements on our charity page.
