No make-up selfies raise over €200k
We are overwhelmed with the amount of support received to date with the #nomakeupselfies If you wish to donate €4 you can text PINK to 50300
— Irish Cancer Society (@IrishCancerSoc) March 20, 2014
In recent days, hundreds of thousands of women both here and around the world have been posting “bare-faced selfies” of themselves — a picture of them wearing no make-up — on sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
They then nominate their friends to do the same.
My #nomakeupselfie for #irishcancersociety a charity very close to my heart. Text PINK to 50300 to donate €4 💕 pic.twitter.com/EcOF6ExDdT
— Emma Whyte (@byEmmaW) March 20, 2014
Each participant also donates a small sum of money to a cancer charity.
In Britain, the craze has so far raised over £1m (€1.2m).
Here Mark Mellet, the Irish Cancer Society’s head of fundraising said: “The #NoMakeUpSelfie craze sweeping social media has grown spontaneously as a viral movement and is not directly related to the Irish Cancer Society.
“We are, however, very grateful for any donations from the general public, including those coming from this source, as we rely on these donations to deliver our vital services, including our free night nursing service, our volunteer driving service Care to Drive, our free cancer information services, and to fund cancer research.”
Mr Mellet said the money raised from the social media campaign will go towards funding breast cancer services and research.
No makeup selfie for cancer! Text 'pink' to 50300 to donate €4 to Breast Cancer Awareness #irishcancersociety 🎀 pic.twitter.com/bRmwIsGuTJ
— Shauna Kelly (@ShaunaK__) March 20, 2014
“We hope that donations continue to come in, but we also turn our focus to our largest fundraising campaign — Daffodil Day — taking place nationwide on March 28,” he said.
