Welfare Officer Lorna Finnegan is hoping to double the amount of money raised for the charities chosen by DCU Students’ Union this year.
Community organised events on campus will aim to raise funds for the SU’s three charities: HeadstARTS, Smiles for Shauna and the CARI Foundation. Last year a total of over €5000 was raised by DCU SU.
The charities were specifically chosen due to interest generated from students within the campus.
The CARI Foundation, a national group that helps children that have been sexually abused, was nominated by students while HeadstARTS, a charity that offers art, dance and drama sessions to people with disabilities, was started by a DCU student.
Last week’s Community Week on campus kicked off the fundraising activities this year. Finnegan said: “We always like to have at least a national, local and student-generated charity each year.”
She pointed out how Smiles for Shauna, a charity dedicated to raising awareness for children cancer patients, had a link to DCU as one of the students knew Shauna Fitzpatrick, who died of cancer at 2011.
Events held during Community Week included a five-a-side soccer tournament, a Father Ted screening and raffle inspired by the show.
The week was described as “RAG Week in disguise” by Finnegan, who is keen to concentrate on more community-led events for charity without the heavy-drinking stigma of RAG Week.
She didn’t rule out the idea of more themed weeks in the future but has suggested that there may be more emphasis on day events rather than themed weeks because “we can raise money any week and we don’t want to lose momentum.”
Leandro Pondoc
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