Gorgeous Georgia gets support of local business

A SOUTHSIDE family’s quest to build a sensory room and soft play area in Oatfield Avenue in Clondalkin for children who suffer from difficulties with their sight has moved a step closer thanks to the generosity of one local firm.

Consulting engineers ByrneLooby, based in Centrepoint Business Park off the Nangor Road, have generously donated €2,500 to support the local Gorgeous Georgia campaign.

Two weeks after Georgia was born on November 25, 2014 she required an operation to open her eyes. After the operation it was discovered she was severally visually impaired and unfortunately no corrective surgery will ever give her the ability to see.

Jake, her older brother, who is nearly three years of age, suffers from childhood arthritis which could lead to future blindness. As a result his disease is monitored every three months.

Their parents, Aisling and Michael Byrne were advised to build a sensory room in their home. The doctors explained how children who are motivated to explore their environment often push themselves beyond their normal limits.

The simple pleasures and joys that children experience running, playing and enjoying a day outside are sometimes not available for children with special needs

Due to limitations, they don’t experience or are unable to interact with their surroundings, limiting their sensory experiences. Sarah Bonner, originally from Ballyfermot, nominated Georgia Byrne for funding under the ByrneLooby’s internal Employee Recognition Award Programme, after she heard about her story from Georgia’s auntie Michelle earlier this year.

ByrneLooby is a multi-award winning international consulting engineering practice, delivering engineering solutions for challenging projects across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. 

Sarah, who has been an office administrator with ByrneLooby for over 14 years, nominated Georgia under the ‘ByrneLooby in your Community’ scheme, where employees are encouraged to nominate a local charity they feel would benefit from acharitable donation.

The family is trying to fundraise €30,000 to build this facility, not only for their children to benefit but for all children in the community.

Their hope is to give local access so the people of the area can take advantage of this much needed but hard to come by resource.

They will open the room to all children in the area suffering from sight loss, physically limitations or who are highly distractible. This resource will be available free of charge and will include a variety of lights, textures and smells. This is a non-profit cause.

John Byrne, Managing Director, said ByrneLooby were delighted to contribute €2,500 towards this worthwhile cause. “We hope it brings benefit not only to Georgia and her family but to the wider West Dublin community for many years to come,” he said.

To date Gorgeous Georgia has raised over €20,000 from local donations. With just €10,000 off their target it is hoped the sensory room will be open to all in the community by summer next year.

If you would like to make a donation to help Gorgeous Georgia achieve her goal you can via her PayPal account using her email address GorgeousGeorgia@outlook.com or email Aisling directly on Aisling2Long@Yahoo.com for additional payment options.