Friday, May 29, 2009

What you've done

Here's what you've done.

You've put a smile on their faces:

image shows an old woman smiling at the camera, a pretty young girl sitting beside her

The lady on the left? 102 years old. Beside her? Her Carelocal volunteer.

You've got this woman up singing with a band:

An old woman obviously enjoying singing along with a band in a big Hotel room. A Christmas tree is visible in the corner.

She lives in a nursing home. Loves to sing - sang all the time to her family as she got them ready for work and school, went out with her friends to dances and gigs and sang along with the band. Her voice may not be as strong but she still loves getting up and blasting out a bit of Joe Dolan.

You've got these people up dancing:

A group of old people dressed in party hats in a circle up for a dance in a big room. Loads of people up dancing

They don't get out as much as they used to. Either stuck in their houses or the nursing home, they haven't been out for a good dance in ages. Quite the Hucklebuckers in their day, they love having the chance to get up and have a bit of fun, or being worried about how they're going to get home safely.

You've got these people talking:

two women and one very old man smiling for the camera

They don't get to talk to others that much any more. It's lonely at home waiting for someone to call, if they do. In the nursing home they're looked aftr, but people are busy, some get more visitors than most and quite often it's easier just to switch off the mind and watch TV. Sometimes you don't feel up to date or know what to talk about. Sometimes you don't feel relevant.

You've entertained all these people:

shot of many people, some old, some in wheelchairs, at hotel tables all looking at a stage

They're all over in Finnstown House Hotel, having had a great, free meal served to them, having a laugh along with the entertainment and the band. They've been driven to the door, welcomed, fed, watered and looked after for the first time in ages.

shot of old people clapping along to something in the same hotel room

That's what your donations to Carelocal will have done for these people - helped an outing like this for Summer 2009 happen. As I write, the donations are up to €1733.33, which is fantastic.

Fair play to you all. All I'm doing is getting someone else carrying me to jump out of a plane...

Thank you. Sincerely. You rock.
at

8 comments:

  1. Grannymar29 May 2009 at 16:55

    102 years of stories. Plenty of blog posts there in return for a little time!

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  2. Mark Walsh30 May 2009 at 01:00

    Lovely post. And Finnstown House is only up the road from me!

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  3. thedublinista1 June 2009 at 01:59

    I'm probably going to be attacked for saying this but...
    I commend you for raising that much money for what appears to be a really worthwhile charity, but is this post not a tad condescending? I'm not denying that the people in the photos had a great time, but surely the work of an organisation like this should be focused on inclusion as opposed to "look at what fun the dancing old people are having." If it were one of my relatives in the photos I might be a bit pissed off to read that they were getting "looked after for the first time in ages."

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  4. Care Local2 June 2009 at 17:05

    I can't believe the generosity of you and your many friends from the Blogosphere!! Thank you all so much. We are hoping to plan a Summer event with the funds that were donated by so many of you. Whether you are 19 or 90 a day with good craic is so important to add quality to ones life. A very special thank you to Darragh for participating in this life adventure to benifit CARELOCAL and for bringing your virtual friends along.

    Linda Desmond, CARELOCAL CEO

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  5. joesanchez3 June 2009 at 00:06

    "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same and still retain the ability to function...One should, for example, see that things are hopeless yet be determined to make them otherwise." ---F. Scott Fitzgerald

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  6. Lisa3 June 2009 at 14:01

    That's brilliant Darragh - fantastic result! And pretty durn brave of you.

    I like that you have applied the funds. Wish everyone I have ever sponsored would show me where it actually went.(online, I don't want those walkathon kids popping back too often)

    Makes change seem achievable and inspires us to do even more.
    xx

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  7. Lisa3 June 2009 at 14:03

    And dublinista: if one of your rellos was in the photo you might be inspired to go down to the centre and chat to them or play a few records or whatever. Teach em to use facebook??
    xx

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  8. Rocky24 June 2009 at 20:40

    Very touching stories. Two thumbs up for carelocal and to you darragh!

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