.The ViClarity ‘November Team’ who raised funds for men’s mental health projects.
MEMBERS of the ViClarity team based at Kerry Technology Park, took part in the Movember challenge to raise funds for men’s health projects for mental health, suicide prevention, and prostate/testicular cancer.
Throughout the month, the team grew some interesting looking moustaches and completed a ‘move goal’ of 60km, in the process raising €4,565 for the cause.
The challenge began on November 1, where most team members started out bare-faced (others needed a head start) to see how impressive their moustache would be by day 30.
From day 1, the competition was fierce in the ViClarity office, comparing their growth and keeping a watchful eye on the leaderboard, to see who was raising the most funds.
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This competition between team members helped to drive success in the volume of donations that were received.
The ViClarity team raised a combined total of €4,565 over the 30 days, which was donated to www.Movember.ie and distributed across all listed charities.
Movember is the leading charity changing the face of men’s health. Since 2003, Movember has funded more than 1250 men’s health projects around the world, challenging the status quo, shaking up men’s health research and transforming the way health services reach and support men.
.Marisa Reidy, Kathleen Collins and Maureen O’Brien eyeing up Eamon Kirby’s beard which will be shaved off at the end of November as part of Recovery Haven’s Movember Challenge Fundraiser. Photo by Dermot Crean
A NORTH Kerry publican who has sported his signature beard for over 45 years has pledged to face the chop in support of cancer support charity, Recovery Haven Kerry.
Well known Ardfert pub owner Eamon Kirby has become one of the first ‘victims’ of Recovery Haven’s 2019 Movember Challenge which aims to encourage the men of Kerry to shave their beards and moustaches at the end of November to help raise awareness of men’s health issues, in particular prostate and testicular cancer.
Eamon said he was delighted to be able to do anything he could for such a great cause.
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Last year, over 160 men across the Kingdom took part in Recovery Haven’s inaugural Movember challenge and raised a staggering €35,000 for the charity. This year, organisers are hoping to break that record and are now putting the call out to men across the Kerry to sign up.
Recovery Haven PR & Marketing officer Marisa Reidy said that having someone like Eamon pledge his support to the cause is the ideal way to kickstart their call to arms, adding that a number of Eamon’s fellow publicans across the county have since got in touch to confirm they too would be hosting shave off events in their premises and would be encouraging their customers to sign up.
She explained that the charity is calling on individuals, businesses, clubs, pubs and other groups across Kerry to come together and support the cause by signing up to the official shave off which takes at The Rose Hotel on Wednesday, November 27th.
However, she insisted that larger groups are also welcome to host their own events at a date of their choice in November, which is what many pubs are already planning.
“We were genuinely bowled over last year by the support we received from the men of Kerry and we are really hoping to go one better this year, so we can’t thank Eamon enough for kick starting this year’s campaign,” Marisa said.
“Recovery Haven needs an average of €180,000 annually to keep our doors open and with no State funding available, we rely fully on fundraising events such as this to reach such a challenging goal. We believe that the potential of our 2019 Movember Challenge is huge, but as with any fundraising event, we rely fully on the support of the local community to make it happen, so for that reason we would love the men of Kerry to come on board.”
Anyone wishing to sign up for this year’s Movember Challenge is asked to contact Recovery Haven on 0667192122 or email: marisa@recoveryhavenkerry.com to register and secure their sponsorship card.
.Recovery Haven’s Marisa Reidy, Dermot Crowley, Siobhan McSweeney and Dan Nolan celebrate the Movember Challenge raising €30,000. Photo by Dermot Crean
CANCER support charity Recovery Haven Kerry has received the ultimate Christmas present this week with confirmation that proceeds from their recent Movember challenge have exceeded a staggering €30,000.
The charity, which offers free support to cancer patients and their families across Kerry, had hoped to raise €10,000 from the initiative, having invited 100 men to register for Movember and raise €100 each for the charity.
The response to the campaign, however, was phenomenal with 140 men eventually signing up to grow – and subsequently lose – their beards or moustaches in November, with everyone smashing the €100 target sought by Recovery Haven.
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The campaign culminated with a mass shave-off at the Rose Hotel on November 29, when 60 of the men lost their facial hair at the hands of the wonderful staff at Sean Taaffe, The Barber Tralee and Kerry ETB, all of whom volunteered their services on the night.
Meanwhile, a number of other community groups organised their own shave off events in towns and villages across the county at the end of November, all adding significantly to the fundraising pot.
While the remaining funds continued to trickle in before Christmas, Recovery Haven confirmed this week that the proceeds raised from the event have now exceeded €30,000 – a figure which organisers could never have imagined.
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Paying tribute to Tralee man Junior Locke, who first approached the charity with the ‘100 Men/€100’ challenge idea, as well as the men from across Kerry who pledged their support to Recovery Haven, PR & Marketing officer Marisa Reidy described the event as one of the major success stories of Recovery Haven’s year.
Patricia Green Doona, Denis Hartnett, Ciss O’Connor and Noreen Murphy at the Recovery Haven Christmas Party for volunteers, staff and visitors on Wednesday. Photo by Dermot Crean
“When we set out to do this, we honestly wondered if we’d get 100 men to sign up, but we couldn’t have imagined just how amazingly the men of Kerry would respond. Once we knew we had exceeded 100 men, we were confident of exceeding our €10,000 target, but to make three times that amount of money has surpassed all our expectations,” she said.
“It’s hard to put into words just how grateful we are to each and every man who went above and beyond for Recovery Haven; to Junior Locke whose brilliant idea this was, to The Rose Hotel for their ongoing support and to our amazing barbers on the night. The goodwill was just overwhelming.”
Such was the incredible success of this year’s initiative that organisers have now confirmed they will definitely be making it an annual event, with a Guinness Book of Records attempt on the cards for next year…so watch this space!
Meanwhile, Recovery Haven hosted a Christmas party at their premises in Killerisk where volunteers, staff and visitors enjoyed tea and refreshments. Scroll down for photos…
Ladies at the Recovery Haven Christmas Party for volunteers, staff and visitors on Wednesday. Photo by Dermot CreanDavid Maher, Aileen Bulman and Arthur Townsend at the Recovery Haven Christmas Party for volunteers, staff and visitors on Wednesday. Photo by Dermot CreanTimmy Moriarty, Maura O’Connor, Joan Moynihan, Siobhan McSweeney, Nora Moriarty and Christine Klein at the Recovery Haven Christmas Party for volunteers, staff and visitors on Wednesday. Photo by Dermot CreanNoreen Healy, Mary McGreevy and Myra McCarthy at the Recovery Haven Christmas Party for volunteers, staff and visitors on Wednesday. Photo by Dermot Crean
