Laois man raises €15,000 for Jack and Jill charity
Amanda Conroy, Peter Ryan and Gordon Gee at the EC Pratt & Co, Abbeyleix, Open Day in aid of the Jack & Jill Children's Foundation Photos: Alf Harvey
LAOIS man Gordon Gee has helped raise over €15,000 for the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation.
Gordon, who is store manager of the Abbeyleix garden machinery and landscaping business E.C. Pratt & Co, organised a special event, which took place on Saturday 11 April, to give back to the charity.
Taking place on the premises of E.C. Pratt, attendees were treated to songs by Timahoe Male Choir, who opened proceedings, as well as Tom Dunne’s pet farm.
G's Jams sold a limited-edition Jack and Jill jam, Seamus Cranny sold ice cream and Sarah and David Clark fed guests from their pizza van. A special demonstration by Laois Fire Services was cancelled due to the fuel protests.
A raffle was also drawn, which saw one lucky winner take home a wireless robotic lawnmower, courtesy of Segway Navimo. Other winners received landscaping and agricultural discounts.
Five per cent of all sales of robotic lawnmowers on the day went to the Jack and Jill Foundation.
Jack and Jill provides home nursing care and support to families caring for children with neurodevelopmental delay due to brain injury, genetic diagnosis, cerebral palsy and undiagnosed conditions.
Gordon and his family have availed of Jack and Jill’s support since discovering his daughter Maddie (5) has a brain disorder. “They've been very good to us over the years”, Gordon told the Laois Nationalist in February.
Reflecting on the event, Gordon says it was a ‘‘good day,’’ but he is ‘‘wrecked.’’ He thanks all those who volunteered their time to help and those who offered support, including Joe Mangan from Camsaw Distributors Portarlington.
He also thanked his staff, noting: “It was a lot of work getting it prepared and a lot of work taking it down.”
