Jack & Jill urges Limerick people to join Fundraising Challenge at University of Limerick Boat Club this October

Carmel Doyle, CEO, Jack & Jill Foundation, Noah Quish(2), Monaleen, Limerick and Munster Rugby’s Rhys Marshall at the launch of the Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation “Up the Hill for Jack & Jill” fundraising challenge by members of the Munster Rugby Squad at Cratloe Woods, Cratloe, Co. Clare. Photograph: Liam Burke/Press 22.

Jack & Jill urges Limerick people to join in Fundraising Challenge at University of Limerick Boat Club this October

Specialist children’s liaison nurse with the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation for Limerick, Clare and North Tipperary, Margaret Naughton, is urging the people of Limerick to go “Up the Hill for Jack & Jill” this September and October. The Foundation, which provides vital home nursing and in-home respite services for seriously-ill children, has supported 41 families in the city and county since 2015.

The fun fundraising challenge has its sights set on raising €75,000 through hill walks, of many varieties and degrees of difficulty, taking place across the country from Sunday, September 22. The Limerick event will take place in the Boat Club at the University of Limerick on Sunday October 6, at 11.30am, where participants will have a choice of a three- or a five-kilometre route. 

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People interested have the option of joining this organised event or they can get creative and choose an endeavour of their own by organising a DIY challenge with friends or colleagues – this can be sauntering up a local hill, climbing the office steps, abseiling a local landmark, surfing the crest of a wave, etc. Whether it’s one person or 100 people signing up, it really is the taking part that counts. 

Leah Quish(7), Monaleen, Limerick has her jersey signed by Munster Rugbys’ Craig Casey at the launch of the Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation “Up the Hill for Jack & Jill” fundraising challenge by members of the Munster Rugby Squad at Cratloe Woods, Cratloe, Co. Clare. Photograph: Liam Burke/Press 22.

The “Up the Hill for Jack & Jill” challenge is open to all ages and fitness levels. People can register their support for just €16 at Jack and Jill website – equivalent to the cost of one hour of home nursing care. Once signed up, they will receive an “Up the Hill for Jack and Jill” fundraising pack full of goodies, including a menu of ideas, posters, balloons and stickers.

Nurse Margaret Naughton, who has been working with the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation for over 20 years, said “This event brings people together for a great cause and community is at the heart of what we do at Jack & Jill and I want to thank local volunteers like Bob Heuston for making this happen. It is essential in raising funds and awareness for what we do. So, whether you can join us in the University of Limerick, or on one of the other organised hill climbs, or do your own, or you’d rather just simply make a donation of €16, please remember that your effort will support precious children locally and around the country.” 

A Hill of Difference
For Carmel Doyle, CEO of the Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation, each person’s contribution of €16 is a gift of time, in the form of one home nursing hour, making a big difference to the families under their care: “With every person who does the ‘Up the Hill for Jack and Jill’ challenge, the return for the families that we support is a gift of time. The €16 pledged by each participant goes to fund one hour of home nursing, which makes a real difference for our families. Each day, our families have to climb their own formidable hill, and so we are asking others to show their solidarity by joining in one of our organised hill climbs or doing one of their own or simply registering their support by donating €16.

No Care Like Home Care
Each day, Jack & Jill organises teams of nurses and carers to provide nursing and respite care to 350 families in their own homes across the country. Since 2015, a total of 792 families have been supported by Jack & Jill right across the country. Last year, Jack and Jill funded 123,884 hours of home nursing care to the families under its wing and that included up to 80 hours per month for children at end-of-life stage. Jack and Jill nurses are there when they are needed most, day or night, including weekends, with no waiting list.

Jack and Jill supports children up to the age of five years with any one of more than 100 serious health conditions, including cerebral palsy, epilepsy, Rett syndrome and many more rare disorders. For these families, the home environment often becomes an intensive care environment. Thanks to an army of more than 700 community nurses and carers the length and breadth of the country, parents looking after their children around the clock are supported with a range of tasks including peg-feeding, suctioning, oxygen management, medication management, monitoring of vital signs, overseeing of an average of 22 pieces of medical equipment, and so on. It means that families can continue to support and care for their little ones in the place in which they most feel safe – their own homes.

You can follow all the latest news on Instagram @jackandjillcf, on Twitter @jackandjillcf, and on Facebook @jackandjillfoundation. The campaign hashtag is #UpTheHill2019 

For more stories on Fundraising Challenges, go on here. 

For more information on Jack and Jill Children´s Foundation, go here.