[dropcap]Twenty[/dropcap] eight DCU students raised over €27,00 euro for Temple Street Children’s Hospital during a fundraising initiative called 100minds.
The 100minds initiative challenged 100 students in colleges across Ireland to raise €1,000 each. Students were paired with a recent graduate in their sector so they could organise a fundraising event of their interest.
The overall scheme successfully passed their target of €100,000 and raised a total of €140,552.
The money raised from the scheme this year is going towards a new satellite classroom for St. Gabriel’s neurosurgery ward. The Ward specialises in neurosurgery and craniofacial surgery, but often cares for patients with both general and medical conditions.
Declan Egan, a former UCD student, founded the 100minds social enterprise project in 2013.
Over the last three years the project has raised more than one million euro for Irish charities including Temple Street Children’s Hospital, Blossom Ireland, Barnardos and ISPCC.
The students organised a variety of fundraising events and activities, including sponsored bag-packs, art exhibitions, live gigs, and swimming and cycling challenges.
Robert Byrne was DCU’s best fundraiser. He single-handedly raised €2,500 through a variety of activities including a jersey raffle, coffee morning and Christmas swim.
Robert is an engineering student from Ballymurn in County Wexford. He said he “joined 100minds this year as I wanted to give back, and I thought that 100minds gave me the best opportunity to do so. It is such a great opportunity to raise funds for a worthy cause like Temple Street that I couldn’t turn it down”.
From 2013 until June 2016 Declan Egan ran the 100minds project with different Irish charities but then handed it over to Temple Street Foundation, the charity he worked with in its first year.
Denise Fitzgerald, Chief Executive of Temple Street Foundation said, “We are incredibly proud of our 100minds participants – who took on their fundraising challenges with enthusiasm, energy and creativity. This year’s participants raised over €140,000, surpassing their target by a phenomenal €40,000.”
“The funds they have raised will go a long way to making our planned satellite classroom for St. Gabriel’s Ward a reality – so we can ensure children who are bed bound don’t fall behind, and can keep up with their friends in school,” she said.
Laura Horan
Image Credit: Irish Times