An inspirational teenager from Mayobridge has helped to raise more than £40,000 for Evora Hospice.
Callum Magee, who has cerebral palsy, joined his aunt and uncle, Michelle and Conor Quinn, to walk 120km of the Camino, from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela, for a cause very close to their hearts.
They undertook ‘Callum’s Camino Challenge’ in July in memory of Ferghal Quinn, Conor’s brother.
Writing on their JustGiving page, Michelle explained why they decided to embark on the trek.
‘Evora Hospice Care helps patients with life-limiting conditions live well from diagnosis to end-of-life, providing care tailored to each person’s unique needs, wishes, and quality of life,’ Michelle wrote.
‘We as a family know only too well how wonderful a charity this is, a place where they cared for Ferghal with such compassion, dignity and respect whilst offering support to the family.
‘They rely on fundraising in order to carry out all the specialist care to those who need it. This year it will cost approximately £6,000,000 to run the hospice, of which they must raise £4,000,000.’
Michelle added that everyone supporting the fundraiser is ‘helping to provide comfort, dignity and specialist care for when it matters most’.
Before they set off, Down GAA fan Callum was delighted to meet the Down GAA team and manager Conor Laverty, who wished him good luck with the challenge.
Last week Callum, Conor and Michelle called to the local hospice to present the charity with the proceeds of the hugely successful fundraiser.
“The hospice staff were so in awe of Callum, whose idea it was to take on this fundraising challenge, and with each and every step he took, he inspired so many people,” said James McCaffrey, Senior Fundraising Executive at the hospice.
“Walking 120km is tough enough for anyone but for Callum, who has cerebral palsy – a condition that affects movement and coordination – it meant every step was that little bit more demanding for him.
“His determination to finish made him very popular with all the trekkers he met along the way.”
Callum, Michelle and Conor were delighted to present the amazing total of £40,409 (including £4,993.90 Gift Aid) to hospice staff members Rosy Adams, Mr McCaffrey and Dr Peter Reel.
This was even more poignant as Peter helped to care for Ferghal when he was at the hospice.
Michelle and Conor would like to express their thanks to everyone who donated online, offline, anonymously, to all the businesses, to the schools, to those who had donation buckets in their shops and to those who organised fundraisers or events in support of their challenge.
