Hope Foundation Womens Luncheon 2018 in aid of people of Kolkata

Hope Foundation Womens Luncheon 2018 launch at Savoy Hotel. Melissa Roberts, Elizabeth Arden, Petrina Hayes, Ruth Vaughan, Damien Harnett and Shreejana Paudel, the Savoy.
Picture: Keith Wiseman

Hope Foundation Womens Luncheon 2018 in aid of people of Kolkata

Vicky Phelan, Dr Sinead Kane and Georgia McGurk will be among this year’s special guests at the Annual HOPE Foundation Womens Luncheon 2018. The lunch will take place from 12 pm Friday, September 14th at The Savoy Hotel in Limerick.

This annual event is an important fundraiser each year for HOPE. In operation since 1999, for nineteen years The Hope Foundation has worked tirelessly to support street and slum children in Kolkata, along with their families and communities.

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Hope Foundation Womens Luncheon Launch at Savoy Hotel. Sinead Clohessy, Specsavers Limerick, Loretto Kennedy, Charlotte Nagle, The Hope Foundation, Catherine Duffy, Northern Trust.
Picture: Keith Wiseman

This year the lunch is very kindly sponsored by Northern Trust Limerick and the funds raised will go to the HOPE Hospital which was established in May 2008 to specifically cater to the secondary health care needs of street and slum-dwelling children and adults in Kolkata. For every 10,000 people in the city, there are 61.7 hospital beds. HOPE know that the existing facilities are inadequate to meet the healthcare needs of the city, where 33% of the population live in slums.

The HOPE Hospital consists of an In-patients Department with 32 beds, Out-patients Department, Surgical Department and Diagnostic Centre. A fully equipped ICU holds 4 beds. This small hospital has had an incredible reach, having supported over 97,000 people since it opened.

The Hope Foundation is also working with our young people here in the Mid-West and all over Ireland through their Transition Year Immersion Programme, which is the brainchild of HOPE founder and Hon. Director Maureen Forrest. In a world where young people can watch the news channels and often feel helpless, this programme gives them the chance to bring about real change, it empowers them in a way that stays with them for the rest of their lives. Since the programme began in 2003, over 3000 students have fundraised for HOPE and then travelled out to Kolkata to see first-hand how their money is utilised on the ground.

This year, sponsor Northern Trust and HOPE are very honoured to welcome inspirational campaigner Vicky Phelan, Dr Sinead Kane who is the first blind person worldwide to run 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days, and Georgia McGurk, daughter of Miriam O’Callaghan and HOPE ambassador as special guests on the day. These three individuals are the embodiment of what it means to persevere through challenging times.

Speaking at the launch of the fundraising event General Manager of Northern Trust, Catherine Duffy, discussed her motivation for becoming the main sponsor of the lunch, “The Hope Foundation does amazing work with the most underprivileged children in Kolkata. Northern Trust is delighted to be supporting them and I am looking forward to welcoming everyone to this wonderful lunch which raises much-needed funds for their incredible work. It is important for people from all walks of life to connect with, and support one another. This lunch will provide people and businesses in the mid-west with the opportunity to do just that” said Catherine.

Specsavers Limerick Store Director Sinead Clohessy attended the launch of the Hope Foundation Womens Luncheon 2018 at The Savoy this week and will be joining the Specsavers team returning to Kolkata in 2018 alongside Specsavers ambassador, stylist, designer and TV presenter Darren Kennedy.

“We are delighted to be continuing in our support of The Hope Foundation and are committed to ensuring the running of the HOPE Eye Clinic for the next three years through Specsavers’ sponsorship, which is fundraised by all Irish stores. I am very proud of the work we have done to fundraise and support the charity on the ground here but I am very keen to get out to Kolkata and really get involved in the HOPE Eye Clinic.”

This is the second year Specsavers has partnered with The Hope Foundation Womens Luncheon 2018. In 2017 a team of optometrists from Specsavers stores in Ireland embarked on a volunteering trip with HOPE to Kolkata where they carried out over 1,000 eye tests on people across slums, schools, hospitals and rural villages in the region and dispensed over 300 pairs of glasses and 600 pairs of pre-made bifocals as part of the Eye Clinic. Specsavers has now committed to maintaining this support over the next three years as sponsors of the eye clinic, ensuring it will run without issue.

The Hope Foundation Womens luncheon 2018 will begin with a prosecco reception at 12 pm, followed by an elegant three-course lunch with wine, and a luxury gift bag for all guests including superb table prizes and is a guaranteed wonderful day out for all attendees.

Tickets for the event are €75 and are limited. Thanks to the incredible generosity of the sponsors, Northern Trust, 100% of the proceeds from ticket sales will go to benefit the HOPE Hospital, treating the street and slum-dwelling children of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta).

For more information on the event or to book a ticket or a table please contact Charlotte on 087 3666937 / [email protected] or Loretto Kennedy on 087 6957523. Alternatively, you can book online at www.hopeshop.ie.

For more information on the Hope Foundation go here.

For more stories on the Hope Foundation go here.