A heartfelt appeal from the Jack and Jill Children's Foundation as we countdown to Christmas.
Over 20 years after it was set up, the Jack and Jill Children's Foundation is a vital part of hundreds of families' lives right across the country. The charity funds and supports specialist home care for sick children so that they can spend as much time as possible at home with the people who love them, instead of lying in a hospital bed.
As part of iRadio's #CareThisChristmas campaign, which encourages people to support those who might be having a tough time this Christmas, The Lift caught up with CEO of the Jack and Jill Children's Foundation Carmel Doyle.
As part of iRadio's #CareThisChristmas, Dave & Fionnuala will be chatting to @CarmelDoyle1 from @JackandJillCF on The Lift today. ?
She'll be telling us about the work they do and their Gift of Time campaign from 5pm. ? pic.twitter.com/Tm6aLaTg4M
— iRadio (@ThisisiRadio) December 10, 2019
She explained to Dave and Fionnuala how the Foundation is now supporting 350 children around Ireland:
"It's all about home nursing care. Our children would be what we term global developmental delay, neurological developmental delay, physical delay.
"[They] are wonderful children who are tube fed, typically oxygen dependent, [on] heavy medications. They may never walk or talk, but the one thing we know under all this uncertainty, is these children do much better at home.
"And that is proven again and again, and they defy the odds."
Carmel points out that Christmas is a time when emotions are heightened and for so many people the focus is on being at home, so she's appealing for donations to support its #GiftOfTime initiative:
"We're asking people to sponsor a family with that gift of time, because the way the Jack and Jill service works, is we fund one hour of home nursing care with each €16 [we receive]."
This Friday December 13th, people across the country can make a donation at toll booths across the country, as the Foundation marks the anniversary of the boy it was set up to honour:
"It was set up 22 years ago by a wonderful man called Jonathan Irwin and his wife, Mary Ann O'Brien, based on the experience they had with their son Jack Irwin...who lived for 22 months.
"They cobbled together [a] home care plan and based on their experience they said no other families should have to go through [something like this] without help."
You can check out www.jackandjill.ie to find out about other fundraisers in aid of the charity, including a LEGO donation drive.
