Students lend support to elderly charity

HUNDREDS of students from 18 Cork schools are continuing to brave winter winds for the city’s annual fast and fundraising appeal for the care of the elderly.

SHARE, the organisation run by secondary school pupils in Cork, is continuing its 38th Christmas fast and fundraising campaign.

The focal point is an attractive Christmas Crib at Daunt’s Square, Cork, with other cribs in the city’s main shopping centres.

To date, SHARE has provided more than 200 homes for the elderly in the city over the past four decades — including an impressive Brother Jerome Kelly Day Care Centre at Sheare’s Street. This provides ongoing services and activities to enhance the daily lives of residents and day visitors from several organisations throughout the city.

Chairman of this year’s appeal, student Kevin Olden from Douglas, said: “We just want to get the job done and keep improving and maintaining the houses and the facilities at the day care centre.

“We need all the help we can get. It’s a challenge to keep the thing going and we want to keep up the standards and services. We have a long way to go until Christmas Eve and we are trying very hard.”

Up to 1,800 students are evident on the city centre’s streets with their trademark yellow collection boxes and enthusiastic smiles, despite the weather’s bitterly cold winds.

A SHARE resident, Peggy, who lives in an amenity at Cloch an Barra, Sheare’s Street, said: “Being in a secure, comfortable home, surrounded by people who care and who are still very involved, means so much. There’s something to look forward to every day — and it’s all thanks to SHARE’s efforts over the years.”

She urged people to support the young people as they raise funds, saying: “SHARE has its hands full in trying to keep up the good work at its homes. They try so hard to make sure that we remain healthy and safe, and that each person is cherished in their own right as a valuable member of the community. The boys and girls are trojans.”

In addition to contributing to the street collections, donations can be made, personally or by post, to The Brother Jerome Kelly Day Care Centre at Sheare’s Street, Cork.

Full details are available on www.sharecork.org