Limerick’s Children’s Grief Centre is on a winning streak thanks to National Lottery

ALL INVOLVED with Children’s Grief Centre in Limerick must feel like they have won the Lotto.

The Limerick Bar Association will be presenting them with a cheque for over €10,000 from their Strictly Legal Eagles event on Thursday night.

Then, two days later the centre was named as National Lottery Good Cause of the Year at a gala ceremony in Dublin.

The new awards shine a light on the extraordinary work impacting communities all over Ireland.

The Children’s Grief Centre was chosen out of 36 finalists. They were also named as the winner of the youth category. The six category winners received €10,000, whilst the overall Good Cause of the Year received an additional €25,000.

The €35,000 will help the charity to continue and expand their supports to children who suffer loss from bereavement, divorce or separation

Sr Helen Culhane, who founded Children’s Grief Centre in 2009, said they were “overjoyed” at the award.

Congratulations again to @children_grief in Limerick @NationalLottery #GoodCausesAwards which I was delighted to present to them.

Over €5b has been raised for good causes all over Ireland since the National Lottery began 31 years ago

Well done all

@virginmediaone tonight pic.twitter.com/jdAC4qeEaK

— ⚖️Josepha Madigan (@josephamadigan) November 11, 2018

“Children often find it difficult to express their feelings through language so by providing them with clay and paint, sand and crayons, we allow them to choose their own form of expression. The impact of this work with children is incredible.

“As a result of attending the Children's Grief Centre it has been shown that children are happier, more calm, and have less feelings of anger, guilt and sadness,” said Sr Helen, who is a Croom lady.

Art plays such a big part of their life-changing work that they have organised their own awards. Over 250 primary schools from County Limerick and Clare have been invited to participate in an art competition. 

See www.childrensgriefcentre.ie for more information.

Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan presented the award to Sr Helen.

“Loss, whether through death, separation or divorce, can be devastating, especially for the young. This award goes to a dedicated voluntary organisation which provides comfort and support to grieving children. Its committed volunteers work tirelessly all year round to provide an oasis of calm for those who have lost loved ones, helping them find their voice,” said Minister Madigan. 

The ceremony will be shown on Virgin Media One on November 11 at 9.30pm.