Bereavement charity to run campaign for Father’s Day

A SOUTHSIDE-based bereavement charity is to run a social media campaign around Father’s Day in June following a successful event staged recently for Mother’s Day.

The #mammyandme campaign by Anam Cara in Tallaght was a simple idea where people were urged to post an image on a social media site, be it Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

As well as mentioning the hashtag, participants tagged three friends or family members to do the same and spread the word.

Also included was a text number to donate to Anam Cara that helped raise money for the support charity.

The idea was to raise awareness of the services the charity provides to the wider general public and it proved a major success.

For those who do not engage in social media they could still get involved by sending photos to Anam Cara and they then posted images onto their Facebook page.

Sharon, a bereaved mother who works with Anam Cara, said that it is days like Mother’s Day that can be extra testing.

“It is such a tough day for bereavement,” she revealed. 

“Everyone can prepare for Christmas, birthdays and the like, but this day just sneaks up on you.”

Sharon said it was an opportunity to celebrate or remember and commemorate a loved one, whether by posting a photo with your mother, or if you are a mother by posting one of you and your child.

Sharon added that the idea had been very well received, and the charity found that people had been “very open to the campaign”.

She also noticed that when someone posted a photo it allowed friends to comment and say something that perhaps they   otherwise couldn’t.

 “Sometimes people don’t know how to react or respond or know what to say,” Sharon explained. “When a photo is posted it can offer the opportunity for friends to speak the unspeakable.”

This is the second year of the campaign. Anam Cara is also running a Father’s Day campaign #daddyandme, which will be launched in June.