Tag Archives: Make A Wish

Woodies Staff Are Working On Granting Wishes For Children

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Woodies Tralee branch manager, Tadhg O’Regan with employees Sinead O’Connor, John Joe Hardy, Eileen Redmond, Bryan Enright and James O’Connor ‘Working On Wishes’ for the Make A Wish Foundation. Photo by Dermot Crean

STAFF at Woodies DIY are working hard to make children’s wishes come true in a new fundraising drive at the store.

Workers at the Manor West branch are taking turns on a stationary bike every Saturday, between 12 noon and 4pm, for the next four weeks in their bid to raise cash for the ‘Working On Wishes’ campaign.

The aim is to raise as much funds as possible for the Make A Wish Foundation.

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“We hope to raise over €3,500 in the store,” said branch manager Tadhg O’Regan. “The cost of granting a wish for a child with the Make A Wish Foundation is about €3,000, so with our 37 stores nationwide, we’re hoping to grant 37 wishes.”

It’s not just stationary cycling either as Woodies Tralee kitchen consultant, Bryan Enright, is getting on his bike in late August to help collect the cheques from the stores around the country.

“We’re starting in Limerick and covering every branch in Ireland over a five day period, finishing in Dublin,” said Bryan. “It’ll be 1,500km in five days,” said Bryan, who is well used to long cycles having completed the Ring of Kerry Cycle for the past couple of years.

“It’s for a fantastic cause and hopefully the Tralee store will raise a lot more than €3,500. The money we raise here will go towards granting wishes for children in our region,” said Bryan.

There’s also a ‘€1 Make A Wish’ till donation button where customers are asked if they would like to donate to Make A Wish with their purchase.

So if you’re in the store in the next few weeks don’t forget to donate for this great cause.

Abbie’s Wish Comes True With Dream New York Shopping Trip

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Abbie O’Sullivan on her Make A Wish trip to New York.

A YOUNG Tralee woman enjoyed the trip of a lifetime last week when she flew with her family to New York courtesy of the Make A Wish Foundation.

Abbie O’Sullivan, from Ballyseedy, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes four years ago and the 16 year old Mercy Mounthawk student has a tough time with the condition. Her mum Julie explained.

“The condition has turned her life upside down, she’s on six injections a day and there’s a lot of complications with that type of diabetes. Those injections keep her alive every day, if didn’t have them she’d become violently sick and could go into a coma and die,” said Julie.

“The nurses at the hospital told me about Make A Wish two years ago when Abbie was going through a very hard time. So I put her name forward for it 18 months ago. They weren’t promising anything, but if there was something they could do they’d be in touch,” said Julie.

“They contacted us within the year and said whatever Abbie’s wish was, they’d sort it out. It’s always been Abbie’s dream to go to shopping in New York. I honestly didn’t think they’d be able to afford it, but they got back to us and said if that’s her wish they’d grant it. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard it,” said Julie.

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Abbie flew out with her  parents Julie and Connie and brother Neil on Thursday last, for a five day trip and were met in New York by the ‘Make A Wish US’ team.

They stayed in a beautiful mid-town Manhattan hotel, two blocks from Times Square. They got passes for the Empire State Building, the ferry around Staten Island and the Statue of Liberty and Abbie got a $1,000 to spend.

This was put to good use on the Saturday, the ‘Make A Wish Day’, when they were picked up by Limousine from the hotel and taken to Sephora make-up store where Abbie got a full makeover and was treated like a princess for the day.

“She got a load of free cosmetics to bring home too. The limo dropped us from shop to shop all day. It really was fantastic to see her so happy, it’s just what she needed,” said Julie.

“I can’t thank Make A Wish enough for what they’ve done for Abbie, they couldn’t do enough for us. They really went out of their way, it was just unbelievable. I would love to see another family who needs it, get the treatment we got,” said Julie.

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The O’Sullivan family travelling in style on the Make A Wish Foundation trip to New York.
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A room with a view…Abbie and Neil O’Sullivan in New York.