Fab Five Super-Givers call for Northern Ireland people to “Give More”
Five super-givers from Northern Ireland have been awarded the title “Give More Star” by a giving campaign in recognition of their work for charities across the nation. They’re encouraging others to take part in the Give More Challenge from 16th-22nd Sept.
The Fab Five do a huge amount of work not only fundraising but also by spending time directly helping local people and the community.
Mark Hanna is an incredible whirlwind of a man who organises fundraising events for Marie Curie raising thousands of pounds after being personally moved by his experiences with a local hospice.
Sister Olive Cooney who, at 81, does the laundry for a large number of homeless people in Belfast on behalf of charity The Welcome Organisation.
Maeve Monaghan helped found a “giving circle” that now has 27 female members and has raised £30,000 to give to a range of projects in Northern Ireland.
Scott Higginson, who owns his own pizza business in Belfast, has delivered free pizzas to monthly meetings of families who lost loved ones to cancer for the past four years. He also mentors young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Joan Doherty works tirelessly for many charities and church groups but recently set up Derry’s first support group for Marie Curie, which raised £22,000 in its first year.
Now they are encouraging everyone across Northern Ireland to take part in the upcoming Give More Challenge and pledge to give more to the causes they care about.
The Give More Challenge is a week of action running from 16th-22nd September and will encourage everyone across Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK to make a pledge to give more support to the communities, charities or good causes they care about, and help spread the word to others. For every pledge made, a pin will appear on the Give More Challenge map of giving at www.givemorechallenge.org
At the end of this week, the plan is for the map to be completely covered with pins.
The Challenge is an initiative of the Give More campaign, a movement which has already secured almost 34,000 pledges from people across the UK, with almost 4,000 from Northern Ireland, giving more to charities and good causes they care about.
Star giver Scott Higginson is urging everyone in Northern Ireland to join in and help fight rising need. “It’s an amazing feeling to know that a relatively small action can make all the difference to someone else’s life. It could be just the very thing they need to make them smile through hard times, or just make things a little better. I’d like to challenge everyone across Belfast and Northern Ireland to think about how they can give a little more in any way that suits them. Money is not the most important thing; mentoring is a powerful force for good, and giving your time or energy is too. So let’s all give more if we can at this very tough time for so many”.
And Joan Doherty added: “I enjoy everything that I do - I get a great buzz out of it and tremendous satisfaction in knowing that I have helped someone. If each person did something for others, life would be so much better for all.”
A Give More Challenge Quiz (www.givemore.org/quiz) is being launched today alongside the map, and will test how much the public know about the issues facing Northern Ireland. The aim is for the quiz to raise awareness and support for all charities and community groups across the region and enable those who take it to feel more connected with the communities around them.
Tamar Ghosh, Campaign Director, says “We’re hoping that every community across Northern Ireland will be represented on the Challenge map. Maeve, Sister Olive, Scott and Mark’s work is representative of the many fantastic things going on across Northern Ireland. The more people who can respond to this challenge and see how they can give more, the better in terms of strengthening communities in the region at what’s proving to be such a difficult time for so many”.
For more information contact Teri Kelly on 07957142915 or email [email protected]
