Olivia donates €500 including her Communion money to help hospital
By Aura McMenamin
A Tallaght girl has made her community proud after donating €500 to the Coombe Women and Infant Hospital.
Olivia Owens, from Glenview, presented her cheque on Tuesday morning to contribute to a Coombe service close to her heart.
Olivia was born in the Coombe Hospital eight years ago. She was five weeks premature, weighing 3lb 3oz and having to spend nine weeks in the ICU.
Speaking to The Echo, her mother Eleanor explained why the Owens family held the Neonatal Centre in the Coombe in high regard.
She said: “Olivia had to breathe with the help of a ventilator and there was a small amount of bleeding from her brain.
“They told us that any possible speech or physical problems could be helped with therapy, but thankfully she recovered without any long-term issues.”
Mother-of-three Eleanor said that being charitable was a family trait: “Her sisters Emer and Amy cut their hair three years ago and donated it to the Rapunzel Foundation.”
The Rapunzel Foundation Hair is an Irish charity that works to improve the lives of children with alopecia, or hair loss, through fundraising or ‘hair raising’.
Hair is raised through the Rapunzel Foundation’s Ponytail campaign, where people commit to growing their hair 14 inches or longer, then cutting it to help make much needed wigs to improve the lives of those with the hair loss.
“Emer came home with this idea one day three years ago, so we inquired about it, and she and her sister raised €1,000 as well.”
Olivia’s older sisters donated their money to Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin.
Olivia dedicated herself to door-to-door fundraising for two weeks, raising €300 and chipping in a further €200 gifted to her after her First Holy Communion in May. She presented the €500 cheque to hospital chaplain Renée Dilworth.
The eight-year-old also donated several centimetres of hair to the Rapunzel Foundation.
Eleanor said: “We are so proud of her. We want to thank family, friends and the parish of St Aengus for supporting her.”
