Kind-hearted youngster, 11, gives up time and money to make reindeer for charity
A THOUGHTFUL youngster has once again given up his spare time to build reindeer to raise money for local charities.
Eleven-year-old Mark Ryan teamed up with his friend and neighbour in O’Briensbridge Jack Byrnes to create families of hand-made reindeer.
It’s the fourth year in a row the pair have put their talents to good use, with all money from the sale of the deer going to five very good local causes.
As has been the case every year, sales of the reindeer have proven to be very popular.
And this has meant Mark and Jack have raised almost €3,500, which has been split between the local charities.
Homeless group Novas was given €1,000 while Killaloe Search and Rescue received another €1,000.
The Gavin Glynn foundation, which supports children fighting cancer, received €800.
Another charity supporting those with cancer, the Limerick Dragons, secured €200.
And the senior citizens club in Castleconnell got €400.
Mark spends lots of time at Jack’s house, since he’s a friend of the family who live in O’Briensbridge.
Jack revealed that once again, Mark was offered a proportion of the proceeds for his hard work.
As in the past, he declined, ensuring all of the monies were divided between the five charities.
“He’s a lovely lad, he has a lovely heart. I’m in awe at how quickly he is learning the woodworking trade. He loves it. You can see what he can do now with the drill. He can fix the little reindeer ears from start to finish. It’s tricky, it's not easy,” Jack added.
Dr Una Burns, policy director with Novas, which received €1,000, said: “What an amazing young boy he is, and what a credit he is to his family to recognise how fortunate he is and wanting to share that fortune with others. There is so much consumerism at Christmas and we are busy buying. But I think he truly represents the real meaning of Christmas, the giving to others who are less fortunate.”
For Novas, she said the money will help the charity to provide more support to people facing homelessness at Christmas.
Jack said the five charities were chosen to benefit due to personal connections both he and Mark had to them.