Jan 10
19
My Donation to St Vincent de Paul.
In the run up to Christmas, Cork was hit by the worst flooding experienced in the City in many, many years. A number of people around the Marsh area of the City and on the North side of the City had to be evacuated, either because they were marooned or in serious danger of being so. Thousands of households were left without water, some for up to fourteen days.
In more recent weeks, the bad weather has been particularly difficult for many vulnerable people, especially older people. Many people on low incomes who currently face financial difficulty, as a result of the loss of the Christmas Bonus or reduced social welfare payments including blind and disabled payments, are not heating their homes despite the cold weather in an attempt to save money.
Before Christmas, I appealed to the people of the City to reflect on the year gone by, and to consider contributing to one of the very needy charities in our own City, who had been inundated with requests for help. So I decided to take a leaf out of my own book and be the politician that practiced what I preached.
Instead of sending Christmas cards out to hundreds of people in my electoral area, with whom I had the briefest of meetings during my election campaign, I instead decided to make a donation to St Vincent de Paul Cork.
This week I called into the office in Tuckey Street and made a contribution of €250 towards the great work the charity are doing in Cork. A very small token. Last year SVP distributed €4 million to needy families in Cork city and county alone. The charity has seen a 50% surge in demand for its services and expects to distribute close to €6m in the region this year.
If possible I would ask that you would also make a contribution, no matter the size, every euro counts.
Receipt for my donation
