TU Dublin Students’ Union Raises Over €12,000 for IMNDA 

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Charity Abseil Completes a Year of Student Fundraising Efforts in aid of the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association (IMNDA).  

Students of TU Dublin took part in a charity abseil challenge over the May Bank Holiday weekend, to raise some much-needed funds for the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association (IMNDA). The event which took place on Saturday April 29th, saw students abseil up Smithfield’s iconic Generator Skyview Tower, in the process pushing the overall total raised for this year’s designated charity to €12,159.60.  

The event forms part of ‘Raising and Giving’ (RAG), an annual fundraising initiative organised by TU Dublin Students’ Union, which engages students in a host of events to collectively raise funds for their chosen charity throughout the academic year. When Ian Kelly, Vice President for Events and Engagement at TU Dublin Students’ Union, initially suggested IMNDA as the designated charity for 2022/23, he had some very personal reasons for doing so.  

“A few years back my mother came home from a hospital appointment and told me that she had Motor Neurone Disease. I had no idea what it was, at the time I had never heard of it, but awareness of the condition had been made popular in recent years via the viral Ice Bucket Challenge trend. I quickly jumped onto google and my whole world fell apart. At the time, not only was there no cure but they weren’t even sure what caused it.”  

Describing the events experienced by his family in the months following his mother’s diagnosis as ‘a whirlwind’, Ian says, “Very early on in the process we were put in contact with the IMNDA. To be honest I can’t thank them enough for everything they did for my family. For an organisation that receives no government funding their care was second to none.”  As part of their service, the organisation arranged for a dedicated nurse to visit Ian’s mother regularly to check in on her, something that Ian says, “is even more astonishing to me now that I know they only have five nurses in the whole country.”  

Following the death of his mother, Ian was determined to support IMNDA as they continued to help those living with the disease. “In recent years a technology has been developed via the iPad that gives a voice to people with MND. Through helping raise funds to supply this vital equipment to those with the disease, our students could be responsible for helping to give a voice back to someone who has lost theirs.” Expressing his delight at the amount raised for IMNDA, Ian added, “For me it is a nice way to honour my mother’s memory.”  

Read Ian’s story here.   

About IMNDA  

The Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association (IMNDA, CHY 8510) is dedicated to working on behalf of people living with MND and their families and carers. IMNDA’s key services include home visits by their 5 MND nurses, financial assistance towards home help and the supply of specialised equipment on loan. IMNDA also fund and promote research into the causes and treatments of Motor Neurone Disease. Read more about the work of IMNDA here.

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