Waterford car club behind nationwide toy drive for Make-a-Wish
A huge amount of donations were gathered for Make-a-Wish.
The fifth toy drive in aid of the Make-A-Wish Foundation took place recently, organised by local car club Park ‘n’ Chill Waterford.
The drive was nationwide and public donation points were set up across Ireland. Exceptionally, this year’s donations resulted in their biggest donation year to date.
On the weekend of the drive, all of the donations were piled into a truck at Weston Airport. Drivers, participants, An Garda Síochána, and transport teams were all present. Remarkably, 27 tonne bags filled the 40-foot truck to the roof.
From there, the convoy received a Garda Escort to European Prestige. They met with Make-A-Wish representatives, and formally handed over the donations.
Local man Eamonn Casey-Power, the founder of Park ‘n’ Chill, spoke to the Waterford News & Star about being very hands on in the organisation of the toy drive.
“They [Make-a-Wish] weren’t expecting this many donations…. We opened the doors, and the truck was filled to the top.”
The atmosphere at the scene was very positive and heartwarming.
There were 24 donation points around the country.
“They’re mainly in Dublin, but we have them all over the country.”
The toy drive partnered with multiple businesses and companies nationwide. They had drop-off points during store opening hours, which made such a big turnout possible this year.
Eamonn spoke about how they choose a different charity each year. He said Park ‘n’ Chill had noticed all of the work Make-A-Wish Ireland had been doing for children and decided they would be this year’s beneficiary.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a charity that grants wishes to young people and children who face critical or even life-threatening illness. Wishes can include meeting heroes, special trips, or an exceptional experience. This drive received an overwhelmingly positive response from the foundation.
The local Waterford car club has been organising this event for five years. The initiative would not have been possible without the generosity of the public, businesses, and volunteers across the country.
