Christmas feelings of goodwill and good cheer were strongly felt at this Rushe family fundraiser!
More than 200 people attended last Sunday’s special screening of Santa Claus: The Movie at Century Cinemas Letterkenny, hosted by local parents Emmet and Maria Rushe.
Guests turned up in their Christmas jumpers and all parents and little elves enjoyed the festive fun for two great causes.
#RusheToRaise 2018 at Century Cinemas Letterkenny
Maria and Emmet Rushe at #RusheToRaise 2018 at Century Cinemas Letterkenny
With the theme of Santa Claus in mind, everyone received one of Patch’s pops on the way into the cinema screen. Guests were warned to be careful if they started to fly, as the organisers weren’t responsible for floating children!
Magical lollipops for all at #RusheToRaise 2018
This year’s event raised over €2,200 to divide evenly between two charities – The Donegal-based Victoria Thompson Scholarship Fund and the Jack & Jill Foundation.
Victoria Thompson Scholarship founders Sharon and Brian Thompson were delighted to accept a magical donation of €1,100 for their charity, which supports specialist nurses training in children’s palliative care.
Emmet Rushe, Maria Rushe, Sharon Thompson and Brian Thompson at #RusheToRaise 2018
Anne from Jack & Jill also accepted the €1,100 donation with enthusiasm, telling organisers that the humble amount will provide 69 hours of nursing care for a family.
#RushetoRaise organisers Maria and Emmet were delighted with the result, saying: “We love Christmas and so combining family time with fundraising is an enjoyable thing for us to do.
“There are so many families who can benefit from the services and care which these two charities provide. Being able to send them money which has been raised by families coming together is wonderful. We are delighted with the support once again this year.”
Maria and Emmet added: “Thank you to AnneMarie and Mark and all of the staff at Century who, as always, supported us in this project.
“Thank you also to our friends Lorraine and Gary who helped out at the event and of course to our two gorgeous daughters who helped us make sure everyone got a Patch Pop!”
The Rushes revealed that they’ll be back again next year for more fundraising fun:
“#Rushetoraise will return in 2019. We hope it will become a traditional start to December for Letterkenny families. Everyone loves these Christmas movies and they really are spectacular on the big screen, so as long as we can raise money for charity, we’ll continue to run this event.”
Maria and Emmet are both columnists on DW, writing about all things Mammy and Fitness. Check out their articles here:
Thoroughly Modern Mammy – Maria Rushe
