Jobstown House customers Runamuck for Alone Charity
By Aura McMenamin
Staff and loyal customers of the Jobstown House Pub spent their Saturday morning running through fields, jumping over hay bales, and wading through mud to fundraise for a charity vital to the elderly community.
A team of 45 people braved a muddy 10km obstacle course to reach a €5,000 fundraising target for Alone, an organisation supporting elderly people in Ireland that are at risk of isolation.
To raise the money, the Jobstown House team took on the Runamuck Challenge in Kildare, a cross-country event over a wet and mucky course with many manmade and natural obstacles like bale "jumps", net scrambles, slides, bogs, ditches, streams, tyres and more.
John Kilbride, manager of the Jobstown House, explained his motivation behind organising the fundraiser.
He said: “The idea for this fundraiser goes back to Dublin Amber - a brew that was specially developed by Diageo for the Licensed Vintners Associations (LVA). Fifty cent from each pint sold goes the LVA’s chosen charity, Alone.
The proceeds from Dublin Amber go to Alone’s “Befriending Service”, a volunteer programme which provides companionship to elderly people who are facing isolation.
John said: “For us, Dublin Amber sales weren’t very high – it’s hard to get our longstanding customers to change their drink! So, we decided to hold our own fundraiser to support Alone.”
Each member of the team was tasked with raising a €100 sponsorship prior to the Runamuck Challenge, which John said helped them get up to €4,200, but a prize raffle on Saturday night brought them up to €4,600.
The pub even received the support of Shamrock Rovers FC manager, Stephen Bradley.
The total amount raised when they counted the money donated through their collection buckets was €6,350.
He said the patrons of the Jobstown House had fully committed to the challenge: “We’re lucky we have such a loyal customer base.
“When we put up a post on our Facebook page looking for people to take part in the challenge, within hours we had nearly all our 45 people.
“On Saturday morning, some of the team took off as fast as they could, while others took their time and were just happy to have achieved this.”
