Family raises more than £12000 for the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust

A LOCAL family has raised more than £12,000 for charity in memory of a family member who passed away overseas.
The Rodgers family, of Ballyginny, Maghera, wanted to do something in memory of Declan Rodgers, who died in Gozo, Malta, in April 2023.
Declan was the son of Matt and Claire Rodgers and the brother of Barry, Monica (Kingsland), Sean-Paul, Mark, Noleen (Jaidane), Grainne, Matthew and the late Michael Rodgers.
“We wanted to raise money in memory of my brother Declan who passed away last year,” Noleen explained.
She said that the family raised £12,366.60 through a table quiz, barn dance and raffle at the family home in August, as well as through donation buckets and a JustGiving page.
They presented a cheque for the money earlier this month to a representative from the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust.
Noleen said that the family decided that they wanted to give something back to the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust for their assistance and support after her brother’s death. They decided to raise money to help repay some of the costs that the trust spent to bring their brother home.
“The trust were very, very good to us,” Noleen said.
She said that the family was aware of the charity and their work before Declan passed away, but were very grateful for their help after his death.
“Our own undertaker suggested that we contact them,” she said.
“It was Easter Sunday. They organised everything.”
She said that the trust made the arrangements and paid for Declan to return from Malta to Dublin, enabling the family to be quickly reunited with him.
“The Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust brought Declan home to us, alleviating us of the stress and financial strain of getting him home to where he belonged,” the family said on the JustGiving page.
Noleen said that Declan, who was 41 and from Ballyginny, had been living in Gozo about five years, but had been planning to move back to County Down.
As for deciding how to raise the money, Noleen said that the family chose to do something that Declan would have appreciated.
“We wanted to pick something Declan would have enjoyed,” Noleen said. “He loved hosting parties, so we decided we would host a table quiz and barn dance.”
Noleen said the family also held a raffle during the event.
“We want to thank everyone for donating donations and raffle prizes,” she said.
The family also wanted to thank everyone who attended and took part in the fundraising, as well as all who had supported the family since Declan’s death.
She said that the fundraising was to remember Declan, who was a special part of the Rodgers family, and they were pleased to be able to donate so much money in his memory.
“It was about him and raising the money for the charity that helped us at that time,” she said.
“We just hope Declan is proud of that and we know he would have been.”