Easter chick ladies group raise €15,230 for hospital
By Mary Dennehy
A COMMUNITY-led fundraiser this year clucked up a massive €15,230 for Tallaght University Hospital, which has invested the money into becoming the country’s first hospital to use Dementia Digital Clocks.
A growing tradition since they first went on sale nearly 14 years ago, the Easter chicks are the brain child of Tallaght resident Ann Carthy who, with the support of a team of knitters and the wider community, has raised more than €250K for the National Children's Hospital at Tallaght over the past decade.
Members of the Easter Chick Ladies Group
The cute critters, which go on sale nesting on a Cadbury’s Creme Egg in an egg-cup, are created by an army of knitters from areas such as Tallaght, Clondalkin, Walkinstown and Rathcoole, with a few members of Tallaght ICA also coming on board in recent years.
The Easter Chick Ladies recently visited Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) to meet members of the Age Related Healthcare Team, which benefited not only from the sale of the Easter chicks but also from the sale of festive creations made by the volunteers last Christmas.
According to TUH, the €15,230 raised by the Easter Chick Ladies last Christmas and Easter went towards the purchase of Dementia Digital Clocks.
“People facing Alzheimer’s, memory loss and dementia need structure, routine and focus,” the hospital said.
“They often lose the ability to recognise what day of the week it is.
“These clocks have a clear and large screen which spells out the day/cycle of the day/date/time/month/year.
“TUH are the first hospital to have these clocks and it would not have been possible without the support of the Easter Chick Ladies.”
The clocks are being placed by the bedside of patients on the Burkitt Ward and William Stokes Unit.
Help to reduce anxiety
“[These clocks] will help to reduce anxiety about the time of day for patients,” the hospital said.
Some of the money raised will also go towards subsidising the increasingly popular MedEx programme that the hospital launched earlier this year with South Dublin County Council and DCU MedEx.
The programme delivers medically supervised exercise classes and educational workshops in local communities, enabling people with a diverse range of chronic illness and disease to exercise in a safe environment.
Classes are also being created for patients with mental illness and memory complaints.
The hospital also issued a “very big thank you” to everyone who supported the Easter Chick Ladies.
