Caterpillars turn pink in aid of children’s hospice

IRISH builders will be looking pretty in pink this summer following an unusual fundraising stunt for charity.

Plant hire firm Mac Rental has sprayed three Caterpillar mini-diggers bright pink to raise money for a children’s hospice in Dublin.

According to the firm, Ireland’s tough builders are putting on a brave face about being seen driving a pink digger on sites throughout the country.

“Caterpillars are normally a very distinctive yellow but once we explain to customers why they’re pink they’re happy to help out the charity,” said Mac Rental marketing manager Brian Quinn.

For the next 12 months Mac Rental will be handing over all the rental monies from the three diggers to the Dublin-based Laura Lynn Foundation.

The charity was set up after north Dublin couple Jane and Brendan McKenna lost both their daughters within the space of two years.

Their youngest daughter Laura died aged four from a hole in the heart while their other daughter, Lynn, was 13 when she died from leukaemia.

After joining forces with Dublin’s Sunshine Children’s Home, the foundation is setting up a palliative care unit — to be known as the Laura Lynn House — on land in Foxrock, Co Dublin.

The unit will also offer practical and emotional support to families.

Mac Rental, which has depots across Ireland, is also staging a charity ball at Dublin’s Four Seasons Hotel on November 2 to raise further money for the good cause.

The pink diggers are being used on sites at the M50 motorway in Dublin and Belfast’s Westlink roadworks. A third digger is being sprayed pink before being rented out.

Mr Quinn said the pink was chosen as the colour would stand out on building sites and would also raise the profile of the charity by triggering the curiosity of passers-by.

lauralynnhospice.com