MONAGHAN CANCER SUPPORT CHARITY RECEIVES MAJOR BOOST FROM USA

21 June 2024 No Comments by The Northern Standard

May 8 was a hugely auspicious occasion for local Monaghan cancer support charity Crocus when they received a donation of $72,000 from The Rockville Center, (RVC) St Patrick’s Day Parade charity, based on Long Island, New York. “The Parade that Cares and Shares” has raised over $1,620,000 since its inception in 1997 and shares its successful fund-raising with 3 worthy charities, which are national, Irish, and locally focused. Crocus Monaghan were the grateful recipients this year. Martin Maguire, founder of Crocus’s Men’s Den which is part of the organisation’s Cancer Support Centre, said: “This whole adventure started with a phone call from Elaine Gunn O’Connor last year, to Mary Dalton, centre manager, asking if Crocus would like to be considered for a charity donation from the USA. “Elaine went on to explain that her brother Niall Gunn has been involved with RVC’s St Patrick’s Day Parade charity on New York’s Long Island for many years, and thought it would be lovely to support a charity from his home county of Monaghan and could she recommend any worthy local charity for him to nominate.

“Elaine, who is a Community Employment Supervisor and has work affiliations with Crocus suggested us. Of course the board of management agreed to be nominated, so our next challenge was to put together a proposal for why Crocus should benefit from such a sponsorship donation? Needless to say we pulled out all the stops to complete the rigorous application and vetting process in order to be accepted into their programme for 2023/24.”

Denise Brennan and Martin Maguire flew over to New York to attend the gala awards ceremony on the 8th of May to accept the cheque for the staggering donation of $72,000. “We had no idea how much we were going to receive and there was talk of somewhere in the region of $20,000 which was going to be a huge boost to Crocus. All our funding comes from donations and charity events organised by local volunteers, family and friends who have availed of our services. “Crocus does not receive any Government supports and relies on the generosity of the public to provide its services. You can image our reaction….

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