CHARITY: KBC Bank staff fundraise for Alzheimer Society of Ireland with nationwide relay race which includes Cork

9 June 2017
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie

KBC Bank Ireland has announced its new Charity Partner of the Year is The Alzheimer Society of Ireland (ASI) as staff get set to take part in a gruelling 600km relay race across Ireland.

More than 60 KBC colleagues will join forces for The Alzheimer Society of Ireland by running non-stop for 60 hours between KBC’s Hubs to raise funds for the charity.

The intrepid group will run in 10km legs through day and night, raising awareness of the valuable work of The Alzheimer Society of Ireland. They will depart KBC’s Hub on Eyre Square, Galway, at 6am on Friday, 16^th June and run to Limerick, Cork, Kilkenny, Maynooth, Greystones before crossing the finish line at KBC Bank’s Head Office on Sandwith Street, Dublin 2, at 6pm on Sunday, 17^th June.

Members of the public are invited to come out and support the relay team when they arrive at, and depart from, each KBC Hub. Runners will leave from the KBC Cork Hub at 1am on the 17^th June.

Sean Michael Collins, ‎KBC Hub Manager Lapps Quay, Cork said: “At KBC Bank we are delighted that the Alzheimer Society of Ireland is our chosen charity partner this year. It’s an organisation that touches the lives of so many people across Ireland, and their work struck a chord with our staff who wanted to get involved and help make a difference. The Alzheimer Society of Ireland provides more than one million hours of community-based dementia-specific care throughout Ireland and we are privileged to be able to support that. You can expect to see us out and about in communities raising awareness and funds for a great cause, and we look forward to kicking things off with our first KBC Hub2Hub run.

“The KBC relay will connect all of our Hubs and Head Office to fundraise for our charity partner. Having 60 people run 10km each, non-stop, cross country, presents its own challenges, however, with the ultimate aim being to raise as much funding as possible for our deserving charity partner we know the challenge will be worth it.”

KBC Ireland staff aim to raise some €35,000 for The Alzheimer Society of Ireland throughout the year, with the bank doubling the fund being the total to more than €70,000.

The money generated will make a real and lasting difference to the lives of people in local communities living with dementia around Ireland and will help to support vital lifelines across a range of services including day care, home care, family carer training, social clubs and Alzheimer cafes.

There are currently 55,000 people who are living with dementia in Ireland. The Alzheimer Society of Ireland is providing supports and services to people with dementia and their carers, including 52 Day Care Centres and one Respite Care Centre.

Pat McLoughlin, Chief Executive of The Alzheimer Society of Ireland (ASI), said the organisation is delighted to have an official charity partnership with KBC.

“This charity partnership gives The Alzheimer Society of Ireland an opportunity to not only raise vital funds for our services, but also to bring awareness of dementia, our advocacy work and information helpline to the wider community.

“The ASI is rooted in communities throughout Ireland with local day centres, our mobile information service and dementia advisors and with the KBC partnership, we can ensure awareness of our work is communicated with an even larger audience across the country.

“We are very grateful to the KBC staff members who are taking part in the Hub2Hub relay challenge which will be taking place throughout the country. This challenge will generate more awareness of dementia generally across these communities in Ireland.

“Our mobile information service, which is run by trained staff and volunteers, creates a unique opportunity to increase awareness about dementia and will be joining the Hub2Hub challenge participants from Galway to Dublin.

“In addition to this, we are very grateful to the members of our Dementia Carers Campaign Network (DCCN) who will be supporting the Hub2Hub events around the country.”

Donations can be made via: https://give.everydayhero.com/ie/600km-hub2hub-relay

Relay teams will be arriving and departing from KBC Hubs at the following times:

Donations can be made via: https://give.everydayhero.com/ie/600km-hub2hub-relay