Shaw’s Department Stores have this week announced that they have raised more than €100,000 for Children’s Health Foundation Crumlin, supporting sick children and their families in Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin; far exceeding their original €30,000 charity partnership target.
But the team at Shaws aren’t finished yet! Shaws plan to raise the bar even higher throughout the remainder of 2022 through their participation in Children’s Health Foundation’s series of Dare to be Brave events, including a staggering 13,000 feet skydive challenge.
In addition to this Shaws will also be hosting a variety of in-store fundraising events in the coming months to raise vital, life-saving funds for Children’s Health Foundation Crumlin, and are calling on their customers to dig-deep and help them continue their efforts to help give every sick child the very best chance.
In 2019, Shaws Department Stores’ employees voted overwhelmingly to support Children’s Health Foundation Crumlin as their charity partner until 2021. The decision to commit to helping sick children in Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin was an easy one for many staff members right across Shaws 16 nationwide stores, but particularly for Mark Masterson, an employee at Shaws Waterford store who had experienced first-hand the positive impact the wonderful team of doctors, nurses, and front-line workers within the hospital had made on the life of his son Shay during his time spent in the Children’s Heart Centre.
When partnering with Children’s Health Foundation Crumlin, Shaws originally aimed to raise €30,000 over two years for the sick children and their families who are cared for in Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin.
Not long after the charity partnership began, the Covid-19 pandemic saw all Shaws’ stores closed for 20 weeks in 2020, which had a severe effect on the ability of the Shaws team members to raise funds for their chosen cause. Once the worst of the lockdown was over, Shaws generously decided to extend their partnership with Children’s Health Foundation Crumlin to counteract the time their stores had spent closed.
Since then, Shaws have kicked their fundraising initiatives into high-gear, holding numerous staff-led charity events including bakes sales, head shaves, hair-waxing, fitness challenges, tea & coffee mornings, Christmas jumper days, creating Shaws charity calendars, assault courses and even abseiling 150 feet from the top of Croke Park’s iconic Hogan Stand.
Speaking about his own experience raising funds for Children’s Health Foundation, Shaws employee Mark Masterson said: “I’ve really enjoyed spending time recently raising money and awareness for a cause that has had such a positive impact on my own family. I’ve been able to help raise funds by winning the Dare to be Brave assault course challenge back in May and again today with my amazing son Shay joining me and the team from Shaws for the €100,000 cheque presentation in Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin.”
Commenting on the success of their partnership at the €100,000 cheque presentation, Conrad Digan, CEO of Shaws Department Stores said: “I am very proud of our Shaws team and our loyal customers who have helped us raise this staggering figure. Throughout this partnership our colleagues have demonstrated passion and commitment in fundraising for this truly great cause. The relationship built between Children’s Health Foundation and Shaws has gone from strength to strength, and I look forward to the remainder of 2022”
Denise Fitzgerald, Chief Executive of Children’s Health Foundation said: “We are quite simply blown away by the incredible support that Shaws Department Stores have shown sick children and their families in Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin. The entire Shaws team across the country took the little patients in Crumlin into their hearts and undertook a whole range of fun, exciting and challenging fundraising events and initiatives to reach this phenomenal fundraising total.
“On behalf of the entire Children’s Health Foundation Team and the staff, families and patients in Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin, thank you for supporting the urgent and life-saving work that happens in the hospital every minute of every day.”
