Fears for MS funding as online Readathon a 'leap into the unknown'

Maggie Green at home in Creeslough, Co Donegal. She was diagnosed four years ago with MS. Picture: Joe Dunne

Organisers of the MS Readathon are hoping the long-running event is not written off due to an expected €1m shortfall this year in fundraising due to Covid-19. 

The Readathon, now in its 33rd year, is understood to be the longest-running fundraising event in the country but organisers have warned that its migration online —  "a step into the unknown" — will have to be successful if services provided by MS Ireland are not to be cut due to a lack of resources. 

Typically schools and teachers are the main drivers of the Readathon, with physical packs available to children who might then go door-to-door and tap friends and family members for donations as they plough through their books. 

However, with the school year deeply impacted by Covid-19 and new restrictions in place nationally and locally, MS Ireland has moved the operation to msreadathon.ie, providing information and resources for children, parents, and schools. 

The hope is that a successful Readathon this year, already delayed due to the coronavirus, will help claw back funding lost through other cancelled fundraising efforts. 

Thomas McCarthy of Multiple Sclerosis Ireland said a completely virtual Readathon was "a leap into the unknown", which the organisation is hoping will have the desired effect. 

"This is by far our biggest fundraiser; without it we could not provide what we do," he said.

Last year's event saw some 10,000 people involved around the country and Mr McCarthy said a Readathon with less involvement "would have knock-on impact on the services we provide".

Mr McCarthy said the flipside was that a successful Readathon would help secure those services. 

There are currently 9,000 people living with MS around Ireland. Services provided and funded through the Readathon and other efforts include a national care centre in Rathgar, Dublin, which, through its 12 beds, offers respite for people from around the country. The facility currently has six beds occupied. 

Services and supports are also provided through MS Ireland's 10 regional offices and its team of regional community workers.

One person who uses its services is Maggie Green, a teacher in the autism unit at the Educate Together primary school in Letterkenny, Co Donegal. 

Maggie Green with her husband Danny and children Abigail, 9, and Conor, 8, who will take part in this year's Readathon.

Now 39, she was diagnosed four years ago and her own children, Abigail and Conor, are taking part in this year's Readathon. 

"It's really important that people get involved," she said, "it's really essential for people like me — we need to access the services and we need to be able to provide them.

"It took me a long time to come to terms with my diagnosis. During the lockdown it was invaluable being able to speak to someone from my own branch here in Donegal, it was good to be able to talk to someone to address those fears."