Hospital Accommodation Unit refurbished by Rotary.
Rotary Club of Athlone among one of the Clubs involved in this project to refurbish rooms in Our Lady's Hospital, Crumlin.
Rotary contribute €95,000 to Crumlin Children's Hospital project.
Please click on this link https://vimeo.com/223690773 to watch a short video on the project and an interview with Our Club Past President Ciaran Mannion.
The Rotary Clubs of Ireland have made a substantial contribution towards the refurbishment of the Parent's Accommodation Unit in Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin.
Led by the Rotary Club of Monaghan, clubs from all over Ireland -- both North and South -- became involved by ‘sponsoring a bedroom’ and volunteering their time to help with the ongoing refurbishment work. The project involved clearing out rooms, fitting new PVC windows, doors, wooden floors, furniture and redecorating each room.
Monaghan Rotarian Daniel O’Reilly, a past user of the Parents Accommodation Unit said “our aim was for Rotary clubs to unite together to upgrade these bedrooms to a modern standard and to facilitate the needs of parents/guardians while their child is in the children’s hospital. We worked closely with the hospital, and are very proud to have been involved in such a worthwhile project. Parents of sick children in Crumlin will benefit from the work of Rotary for many years to come.”
An additional Rotary initiative, involving a road trip on vintage Honda 50 mopeds to the Arctic Circle, by 3 Monaghan men and an Enniskillen man, resulted in the contribution and installation of 52 custom engineered fire doors for the bedrooms on the PAU. As part of the ‘Arctic Challenge’, families and friends of the Rotary Club of Monaghan sponsored each door with €100 contributions totalling €8500.
Official Ceremony to mark the upgrade and refurbishment of the Parent's Accommodation Unit at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin
The project to assist OLCHC with the refurb of the parent's accommodation in Our Lady’s Children's Hospital, Crumlin began two years ago. Along with the hospital, Rotarian Daniel O'Reilly and the Monaghan Rotary Club helped bring this project come to fruition. Daniel's one year old son Daithi was admitted to the hospital for Cardiac surgery and whilst staying in the hospital, he found the living accommodation for families staying in the hospital was very outdated and in need of an upgrade. As a result, the ‘Be A Gift To Crumlin’ project was launched and a national appeal led to over 35 Rotary Clubs pledging their support and a District Grant from Rotary Ireland. Enniskillen was one of the first clubs to donate £1,200 and this was followed promptly by support from Rotary clubs from all over the country. These efforts have been supported by a nation wide fundraising effort that involved bag packs, parachute jumps, charity auctions, gala events and even a 70’s themed party in Dublin.
As a conclusion to the fundraising efforts, Rotarians recently attended a ceremony to mark the upgrade of the parent accommodation unit and to open the newly refurbished bedrooms.
A large representation from Rotary Clubs throughout Ireland met at the hospital and were welcomed by Sharon Hayden who is the OLCHC Director of Operations. Outlining the project, Sharon advised that the hospital opened in 1956 and caters for children from North and South. The hospital has 10,000 in-patients per year, and also deals with 80,000 out-patients and 18,000 day cases per year. The accommodation block was very outdated and a joint aim for this project was to develop the bedrooms into hotel style rooms making them more comfortable for parents who are often enduring difficult times whilst tending to their hospitalised children. Sharon acknowledged the role of Rotarian Daniel in pioneering the project but praised the role of the hospital team and the support of DG Declan Tyner and Rotary Ireland in driving the success of the project.
District Governor of Rotary Ireland, Declan informed the group that the project started 2 years ago, once Rotary Ireland became aware of the project and the fact that it affected families from all parts of Ireland, his distrcit team came on board. Funds were raised by Clubs and the final part of the project involved fitting fireproof doors to all the rooms, this work was carried out by a team of 30 volunteer tradesmen and Rotarians over two days. This certainly lived up to the Rotary Motto - Service Above Self, Declan thanked Daniel for sharing his dream, his district team and indeed the many other Rotarians and friends of Rotary who selflessly committed themselves to this project.
To conclude the event, Daniel shared a short video highlighting the efforts of Rotary in supporting the hospital. He also thanked all the Rotary Clubs and Rotarians associated with the Project, in particular Assistant Governor Seamus Walsh (Dungannon), DG Gerry Kierans and the Monaghan and Newbridge Rotary Clubs.
The Rotarians present were given a tour of the accommodation block and each club took time to unveil a bespoke Art piece with the Club name on it, within their sponsored bedroom. To close the project, District Governer Gerry Kierans, Past DG Declan Tyner, Daniel and his son Daithí unveiled a plaque in the foyer acknowleding the Rotary Ireland.
Rotary is a global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who come together to make positive, lasting change in communities at home and abroad. Solving real problems takes real commitment and vision.
Rotary Clubs exist in 72 towns throughout in Ireland and are always interested to hear from potential new members. Click here to find your nearest club.
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