Family Carers Ireland is urging people in Galway to support its national fundraising and awareness day, Heart of Gold, this Friday, 7 October.
Staff, volunteers and family carers will be out in force selling €2 Heart of Gold pins to raise vital funds for those caring for loved ones at home.
Funds raised will help the national charity continue to provide essential supports and services to family carers ranging from one-to-one wellbeing reviews, counselling, advocacy and emergency care planning to peer support groups and training courses.
In particularly difficult cases, it will help to put food on tables and oil in heating tanks.
The supports provided by the charity have never been so important with a recent survey of almost 2,000 family carers finding that over two-thirds experience financial distress, almost one quarter are cutting back on essentials to make ends meet and nearly nine in ten feel the value of what they do is not recognised.
Michelle Moriarty, Community Support Manager for Galway and Mayo, said that more families than ever before are reaching out for help with unprecedented levels of stress caused by the pandemic and the cost of living crisis.
“I would urge the local community to rally behind our fundraiser and purchase a Heart of Gold pin in solidarity with local family carers who all deserve our support and recognition,” she said.
“As a charity, we firmly believe that no one should have to care alone but we need your help to ensure that we can continue to provide a vital lifeline to those who need it most.”
More information about Family Carers Ireland and the fundraising efforts can be found on their website www.familycarers.ie.
