At our recent 2024 National Conference, we were delighted to name the McCarton family from Tallaght as our Volunteers of the Year for 2024!
The Volunteer of the Year awards were introduced in 2016 as part of our 50th Anniversary and the award is a small token of appreciation of the outstanding efforts an individual or a group of individuals have undertaken in support of Epilepsy Ireland. The award also highlights the importance of volunteering within our organisation and how we could not continue our journey towards a society where no person's life is limited by epilepsy without the support of our dedicated volunteers.
Every year for each of the past three years, the McCarton’s have opened their family home on Good Friday to their local community as part of a coffee morning to raise funds for Epilepsy Ireland. They’ve done this ever since Mileaha’s and Graham’s diagnosis with epilepsy in recent years.
The entire community gets involved in these events, with local businesses supporting raffles for the coffee morning and the most incredible looking home baking keeping the hunger away for all those in attendance. Through these events, the family are now just shy of having raised €10,000 for Epilepsy Ireland over the years – with their 2024 efforts raising a massive €2,450 and the three events in total raising €9,336!
While the fundraising element of the event is obviously very important for our work, the awareness element is unquantifiable. By hosting these events and sharing information about epilepsy with their local community – and with Graham and Mileaha sharing their experiences of their two very different types of epilepsy – they are also helping to educate the wider community about the condition.
We would like to thank the McCartons for their continued support - with a special mention to their neighbour and friend, Bernie Mullen, who is integral to organising this now annual event!
When our team sets about choosing our volunteers of the year, it highlights to everyone working for the organisation how fortunate we are to have the support of incredible people from across the country who are committed to both raising awareness of epilepsy and raising the necessary funds that are required to continue vital services and supports. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their continued support for the work of Epilepsy Ireland. If you have been inspired by the McCarton's efforts, visit the 'Fundraising' section of our website to learn more about how you can get involved in our work.
If you need any information or support around your or a loved one's epilepsy, please do not hesitate to get in touch with your local Community Resource Officer. You can find their details by visiting the 'Our Local Services' section of our website.