And the 12 Charities chosen for our 2020 Mykidstime Charities of the Year are…

This year we are supporting 12 charities, one each month. Each charity will get a one month advertising package on Mykidstime worth €3000.

January

Make A Wish – Make-A-Wish Ireland has one simple aim – to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions, to bring hope, strength and happiness. Since 1992, Make-A-Wish has granted wishes for more than 2,500 brave children across Ireland, including 211 wishes granted in 2018 alone.

A wish granted is true magic for the child, providing respite from their normal routines of hospitals, doctors and treatment. Make-A-Wish does not receive any government funding, and relies overwhelmingly on the kindness of the Irish public to continue granting wishes.

February

Childhood Cancer Foundation – Childhood Cancer Foundation is a national, parent led organisation. The charity was set up in 2013 by a group of parents of children with cancer. Our goal is to raise awareness of childhood cancer, fund supports, and advocate for children with cancer and their families. We are non-government funded and rely on the generosity of public donations to fund our projects.

Our Support Services include:
– Shared Care Hospital Project- improving facilities and supports for children with cancer hospitalised in isolation rooms in Ireland’s 16 shared care/ regional hospitals
– Play Services- we fund a full time Play Specialist on St John’s Oncology Day Ward in Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin
– Beads of Courage®- we fully fund this internationally recognised arts in medicine supportive care programme for children with cancer and their siblings. It is designed to help children understand and cope better with a cancer diagnosis

March

Hand in Hand – Hand in Hand is the only national Children’s Cancer Charity affiliated with the Irish Cancer Society. The Charity provides practical support services to families throughout the country with a child undergoing cancer treatment; including domestic cleaning, laundry, meals, and childcare.

Hand in Hand have just opened the first dedicated children’s cancer support centre in Ireland where they are now able to provide play therapy, counselling, and complementary therapy.

April

Act for Meningitis – ACT for Meningitis is a national support and awareness organisation which was set up in 2011 by Siobhan and Noel Carroll following the tragic loss of their daughter Aoibhe, aged just 4, to Meningitis. Its mission is to raise awareness, to promote education and to provide support to those affected by meningitis in Ireland, and with a vision to see an Ireland where lives are no longer lost to meningitis, and through their support services no-one faces the meningitis journey alone.

Since its formation and through self-fundraising, ACT have provided free support services to children, adults, families and communities in 21 counties in Ireland through a unique Meningitis Community Care Programme. They also run various National Annual Awareness Campaigns in creches, schools, colleges, clubs and workplaces, and provide free Meningitis Training Programmes to childcare workers, pharmacies and medical professionals.

May

The Perfect Gift – When a new baby is born with Down Syndrome in Ireland it is sad to say that the new parents often never hear the words ‘Congratulations’ and too often hear ‘I’m sorry!” We found from having our own babies who have Down Syndrome that there is too much negativity, and old fashioned and outdated information being given to new parents.

We try in a small way to help by sending gift baskets to new parents to congratulate them on their new arrival and inviting them to our online support group. To date we have delivered over 500 baskets and have seen an amazing online support network grow and flourish.

June

CMRF Crumlin – CMRF Crumlin was originally set up to provide vital funding to paediatric research, which was and remains underfunded. This is an area which is considered a beacon of hope to hundreds of thousands of families who face weeks, months and often years of disruption and challenge due to childhood illness, disease or disability right across the world. Research is a global effort to find better treatments and cures, management and preventative strategies.

We also provide critical supports and funding to sick children from all over Ireland who attend CHI at Crumlin for diagnosis, treatment, and care on their patient journey. Each year at least 150,000 children attend Crumlin for critical care and support.

July

Children’s Grief Centre – The Children’s Grief Centre provides a free support service to children and young people aged 4 to 18 years who have experienced a loss through bereavement, separation or divorce. The Centre was founded 10 years ago by Sr. Helen Culhane and is based in Limerick.

We provide support to those who need it in the Mid-West region. The centre also provides workshops to local community groups, hospitals, third level institutes and other interested parties. Our Schools Workshop Coordinator also delivers free Grief and Loss workshops to teachers in Primary Schools in the Mid-West.

August

A Little Lifetime – ALLF (formerly ISANDS) supports parents whose babies pass away at or around the time of birth. We provide counselling, support meetings, creative workshops, online support, remembrance events and much more.

September

Saoirse Foundation BUMBLEance the Children’s National Ambulance Service – The Saoirse Foundation was founded by Tony and Mary Heffernan in 2010 after their daughter, Saoirse, was diagnosed with Batten Disease (Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses – NCL) – a rare and fatal neurological condition.

When the Heffernan’s second child, Liam, was also diagnosed with Batten Disease, the reach of The Saoirse Foundation was expanded to a second project, BUMBLEance, The Children’s National Ambulance Service.

A third initiative of The Saoirse Foundation is the planned Liam’s Lodge, which will provide much-needed respite for the families who care for children suffering from debilitating disorders and life-limiting conditions.

October

Uncle Tom’s Christmas Hampers – Uncle Tom was an active member in St. Vincent de Paul for many years until he passed away two years ago. Inspired by his participation and selfless commitment to helping those less fortunate we started organising hampers for families in need.

We initially organised 5 hampers and this little venture with the support of our family and friends made Christmas last year a little bit easier for 200 families in Dublin.

November

Galway Sick Kids Foundation – Galway Sick Kids Foundation was set up to help make life easier for children and their parents attending St. Bernadette’s Ward at University College Hospital Galway. Liaising with the Nurse Manager Anne Matthews she highlighted specific projects the nurses needed on the ward.

Our initial project was to provide a bathroom for children with special needs, including a hoist. We are very happy that the bathroom renovation has commenced. And in early 2020 we plan to start the next project.

December

LauraLynn Ireland’s Children’s Hospice – There are over 3,800 children in Ireland living with a life-limiting condition. More than 1,900 of these children have palliative care needs and up to 720 children at any one time are classed as unstable, deteriorating or at end-of-life and in immediate need of hospice care. LauraLynn is the only Children’s Hospice in the Republic of Ireland.

Many people think that a children’s hospice is all about end-of-life care but LauraLynn offers much more than that. Services offered to families include: planned and unplanned short break stays for the child and family, symptom management, family supports, end-of-life care and bereavement support. Through our caring and compassionate team, families are enabled to be happy together even on some of saddest days. LauraLynn Children’s Hospice focuses on making the most of short and precious lives and creating memories to last a lifetime.

Thanks to everyone who nominated a favourite charity!

And just to remind you it is our policy to support all charities so even if your chosen charities didn’t make our 12 Months, 12 Charities, they can still ask us to get the word out about fundraising events or campaigns and we will help. Just email [email protected] with your request.

We also have a free events listing service, just register here and once in you can Add Events for free and they will publish on our Events Calendar.