A MAJOR fundraising event will be held in the Grand Hotel Malahide on Saturday, March 11, in memory of a Northside teenager who tragically passed away in 2008.
Laura Brennan, daughter of Pat and Nuala Brennan, passed away following a short illness on April 4 2008,
Laura was an intelligent, talented and caring young woman with aspirations of becoming a primary school teacher. She devoted much of her time to family, friends and basketball, playing for Killester Basketball Club.
In honour of Laura’s memory and to celebrate her life, Pat and Nuala set up the Laura Brennan Charitable Trust in the summer of 2008, just months after Laura passed away.
The Trust has many aims and objectives but the primary aim is to support children and their families up to the age of 18 who may be suffering from serious, life threatening or life limiting illness within the local and surrounding communities.
The Trust also provides direct funding to families for additional costs such as nursing and respite care, speech therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and transport costs, to name but a few.
“After we lost Laura we just wanted to set up a charity in Laura’s memory to help in an area that was close to Laura’s heart, working with children,” Laura’s Dad Pat said.
The Trust’s website www.laurabrennan.org has a section with numerous videos from families that have benefitted from the charity’s help over the years.
The Trust is run by a board of directors made up of individuals with connections throughout the local and surrounding communities and is run completely on a voluntary basis.
“The fact that the charity is run completely on a voluntary basis means that 100 per cent of funds raised goes towards the children who need our help,” Pat said.
The Trust has been hosting their main event of the year, the annual Gala Evening in the Grand Hotel, for the past nine years since the Trust was founded.
Síle Seoige will again be the MC for this year’s event. The evening starts with a Champagne Reception at 7pm, dinner served at 8pm with auction, raffle and dancing ‘til late.
“The Gala Evening is our main event of the year. Although it’s a fundraiser it’s also a chance for us to say a massive ‘Thank You’ to everybody who has been so supportive to the Trust.
It’s a social evening and a chance for people to really enjoy themselves,” Pat added.
“Tickets cost €80 each with full details on our website www.laurabrennan.org or on our Facebook page.”
REPORT: Hayley Halpin
