The pupils at St Anthony’s school in Castlebar are really getting into the swing of a welcome new addition to their play area.
The school now has a fully wheelchair accessible swing, thanks in large part to the fundraising efforts of the staff and management at Castlebar Credit Union.
The credit union held a hugely successful Strictly Come Dancing event earlier this year in aid of two worthy local causes - with cancer support service Rock Rose House being the other benefiting charity.
Nine brave couples took to the dancefloor in Breaffy House Resort and raised more than €22,000 for their chosen charities.
“We are immensely proud to have been involved in such a wonderful local fundraiser which exceeded all our expectations,” said Majella Mulchrone, speaking on behalf of the organising committee at Castlebar Credit Union.
“It is hard to believe we hosted our Strictly Come Dancing event over seven months ago and secretly we all kind of miss it!” she joked.
The Strictly fundraisers said that getting the chance to see how the money they worked so hard to raise was put to use made the event doubly rewarding.
“Earlier this summer we presented a cheque for €7,400 to Rock Rose House and they were all so thankful for the donation. The money was put to very good use offering cancer care support to so many Mayo families,” said Ms Mulchrone.
“We visited St Anthony’s school recently to see how they spent the funds from Strictly. They are now proud owners of a wheelchair accessible swing, which can be used by three pupils at the same time.
“It was a very proud moment indeed to see pupils of all abilities having fun on their new swing.
“It makes such a difference to actually see where the money goes to, and on that note we would like to take this opportunity to thank all the dancers, the board and staff of Castlebar Credit Union, each and every one of the public who bought a ticket, all of the businesses who sponsored the event, and everyone who volunteered their time. None of this would have been possible without all of you. You should all be very proud.”
