Charity looks to build on success as it supports generations of children living with illness and their families
Barretstown chief executive Dee Ahearn with family camper Billy Dempsey ahead of the charity marking its 100,000th camper on September 1st. Photograph: Shane O'Neill/CoalesceBarretstown, the charity for children living with serious illness, is launching a €100,000 fundraising campaign this week as it welcomes the 100,000th sick child to its Irish base this week.
Opened in 1994, the charity offers specially designed recreational camps and therapeutic programmes for children and their families living with serious illness — supported by 24-hour on-site medical and nursing care. Over half of the children supported using the Kildare facility annually by Barretstown suffer from cancer and haematology-related illnesses.
The charity says it will support 17,000 children and family members this year, up from 14,000 last year. Apart from a fun break, the centre’s programmes aim to rebuild confidence, independence and self-esteem for children who are affected by serious illness. Long-time Barretstown supporter the late Paul Newman at the Barretstown Gang Camp at Barretstown Castle, which he descibed to his family as 'a paradise for kids'. File photograph: Frank Miller/The Irish Times
Chief executive Dee Ahearn notes that all the services it provides to children and their families are free of charge, and the organisation gets only 2 per cent of its funding from the Government. The balance comes from donations and the fundraising efforts of corporate supporters, individuals and community groups.
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