Stars shine at Cliona’s Foundation’s Inaugural Christmas Gala on Thursday, December 7th at The Marker Hotel in Dublin hosted by TV presenter and entrepreneur Suzanne Jackson.
Brendan Ring, Suzanne Jackson, Calvin Lan, Terry Ring
Entrepreneur and TV Presenter Suzanne Jackson hosted Cliona’s very first Christmas Gala Ball in The Marker hotel in Dublin. The gala was generously sponsored by Huawei which means that all profits went towards helping the families that Cliona’s support.
We are delighted to share that due to the generosity of sponsors, corporates, and those in attendance the fantastic amount of €52,000 was raised
Many well know faces joined Suzanne including Instagram Influencer & business woman Terrie McEvoy, Shane Burke, Audrey Hamilton, TV Presenter Muireann O’Connell. In attendance and offering her support to the event was Rose of Tralee, New York Rose, Roisin Wiley who is an ambassador for Cliona’s Foundation.
The auctioneer on the night was comedian Alan Shortt who did a phenomenal job of raising much needed funds. There were some incredible auction items donated including a round of Golf with Limerick Senior Hurling Captain Declan Hannon at Adare Manor.
Speaking of her reason for getting involved with Cliona’s again Suzanne said “I was honoured to be asked to be an ambassador for Cliona’s Foundation. The foundation is a wonderful charity who provide financial support for families who are caring for a child with a life-limiting illness. I’m thrilled to have hosted I am delighted that together we can support a worthy and meaningful cause and raise much needed awareness this Christmas”
Speaking about the importance of fundraising events for the organisation, was Cliona’s Co-Founder and CEO Brendan Ring. “So many of these families experienced, and continue to experience, the significant non-medical costs of caring for a child with a life-limiting condition. We are incredibly grateful to Suzanne for her support again this year and her help in ensuring the gala’s success. We are also very grateful to the generous management of Huawei who have sponsored the gala. We need support more than ever, this year again, we have seen a 59% increase in applications from the same period last year”
A recent survey conducted by Cliona’s shows how families with sick children are often disproportionately affected by situations out of their control, such as rapidly increasing living costs. These are parents who are in a living nightmare and the last thing they should have to worry about are bills. Cliona’s survey found that in 70% of families, at least one parent must give up their jobs to care for their sick child leaving them struggling to cope. Studies have highlighted that a family will need between €10,000 and €15,000 a year to cover various non-medical costs while their child is ill.
Commenting on the event, Calvin Lan, CEO Huawei Ireland said: “Huawei is proud to support such a worthy cause and delighted that the Ball raised much needed funds for Cliona’s Foundation to help families throughout the country. It is important that big corporate organisations like Huawei get behind local charities because it really can make a difference.”
Cliona’s Foundation distributed €502,328 this year. A record breaking amount again which sees a 60% increase on the amount distributed in 2022.
To learn more and to help please visit www.clionas.ie or tune in to the two-part documentary “Ireland’s Forgotten Families” which is readily available on our website.
