Coming up at the end of the month we will be having a charity raffle fundraiser for a beautiful cause – Hannah the Warrior Princess in association with the CABLE Project. We really need some more donors to make this the most successful raffle we can do. So if you are a crafter, jewelry maker, author… whatever your talent is and you want to donate some of your goods for the cause. Please contact me as soon as you can possibly can.
Right now we have a crafter making some gorgeous, handmade bookmarks; three authors donating books – and 2 donating full series… we have survival bracelets being made. Any and everything will be accepted.
Here are some of the prizes we will be raffling so far:
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CABLE Project coordinator, Allen O’Donoghue, graciously took the time to answer some questions for us about Hannah the Warrior Princess and the CABLE Project.
Allen O’Donoghue – coordinator of the CABLE Project out of Drogheda, Ireland
Thank you for joining me this week. Could you tell our readers and potential donors a little bit about the CABLE project?
Thanks for having me Eryn. The CABLE Project is a Garda Diversion Project, managed by Foroige, based in Moneymore, Drogheda, Co. Louth, Ireland. We work with young people aged between 12-18 who have been in trouble with the law or have shown a potential to be in trouble.
We have been in operation since 2008. There are two full time project workers involved and, thankfully, we are blessed with a good number of strong, committed volunteers.
We have a structured risk assessment tool which helps us identify the specific needs of the young people we are working with, which in turn, allows to target the main areas that are impacting upon their risk of offending. We have a lot of flexibility in terms of the programmes we run as we need to meet the young people where their interests lie as well as building relationships with them and their families.
We have worked with over 300 young people since we opened the doors and of those, only 2 young people have gone to court for further cautions, which to us, shows success!
How did you get started with Drogheda’s youth? What drew you to want to make a difference in your community?
On a personal level, I have always wanted to work with people. I did an Applied Social Science degree and when I finished I got a job in a probation hostel for young people coming out of prison. This started me on the road of working with children and families.
I, then, worked in residential units for young people who had been abused, young people with learning difficulties until ultimately getting into working with young people and families around drug awareness.
I had left Drogheda at 18 and somehow found my way back, having sworn to never come back!! I was working for Foroige at the time when the Drogheda project was being set up and I decided to apply for the coordinators job as I had a young family and didn’t want to commute to Dublin anymore…and it was one of the best decisions I made.
I’ve loved working with the young people that have graced our doors. There have been tons of ups and downs but all in all, they’ve made my career a better one.
How did you hear about Hannah the Warrior Princess?
I was aware of Hannah from the local media in Drogheda. Then some of my relations who know Hannah and her family told me about fundraising they were doing for Hannah.
Every year the young people on the project pick a local charity to raise money for in a soccer match against the local Gardai (police). I brought Hannah’s campaign to the committee and they all agreed to go with it.
Hannah – The Warrior Princess on her birthday.
If you’ve met Hannah and/or her family, tell us what Hannah and/or her family are like?
I haven’t met Hannah or her family, but have spoken with her mum on the phone. They are a regular normal family who are just doing what they can to make life better for their children. Hannah’s mum did say to me that they are just doing what any family would do in their situation.
How has CABLE already helped Hannah and her family?
We have begun to try and raise awareness of Hannah’s campaign locally.
Where will the funds we raise go to help?
Hannah has been in hospital for over a year and her family want to get their home equipped in order for Hannah to come and live at home. All money raised through our campaigns will go towards this fundraising drive.
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer some of our questions. We hope to make this a successful raffle in order to help Hannah the best we can.
I want to take this opportunity to thank you Eryn, and everyone who is donating, from the bottom of my heart. For people so far away to take an interest and not only donate their hard earned money, but also time, it really highlights to me how wonderful humans are. Thank you!
Once again, WE NEED DONORS! If you are an author, a crafter, an entertainer, a motivationalist, or just want to contribute to the raffle, please contact me at any of my social media outlets or email. You can find all that information on the left hand side of the screen. Thank you so much for your help!
Falling for Heroes Raffle and Fundraiser: Donors Needed! Coming up at the end of the month we will be having a charity raffle fundraiser for a beautiful cause -
