Earlier this month the team at Blake’s bar on Eglinton Street held a coffee morning in aid of Croí as a thank you for looking after one of their own staff during a life changing event.
Last year barman Ulick O’Halloran suffered from a leaking valve in his heart which required major surgery. He attributes his recovery to the professionalism of the surgical and nursing teams and the comprehensive aftercare from Croí.
“The motivation behind the coffee morning was to create awareness and say thank you to Croí by contributing in some small way in supporting the vital role they play in people’s lives on a daily basis,” Ulick O’Halloran explained.
People put in a lot of time and effort to support them too, among them former heart surgery patients, members of the cardiothoracic surgical teams at UHG, Michael Lyster from RTE, Galway footballers, and Blake’s regular customers and business friends.
“We made new friends, heard amazing stories, and generated donations, plus we even got a lovely letter from the President,” Mr O’Halloran said.
With that kind of support it is no surprise that they raised €2017.35 in the process.
“Croí do not receive any Government funding, so we rely entirely on donations like this to ensure programmes provided by our specialist health team are available to individuals at any stage of their experience with heart disease and stroke,” said Barry McCann, Croí fundraising manager.
Croí is leading the way in designing and delivering innovative and life-changing programmes which reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and obesity. Each week hundreds of people attend the newly established Croí heart and stroke centre in Newcastle to participate in programmes and classes in prevention, lifestyle intervention, and rehabilitation, as well as avail of diagnostic services. In addition, Croí provides family support accommodation which allows families to be close to their loved ones while in hospital. This ‘first of its kind’ centre for cardiovascular health and wellbeing was made possible with the support of local businesses and the community which continues to support the charity’s fundraising activities.
