The countdown is on for a Donegal Hospice nurse who has challenged herself to a head shave for two charities.
Mary Coyle from Glenfin, who now lives in Dooish, will brave the shave this Sunday to raise money for Donegal Hospice and Pieta House.
Her charity challenge will be broadcast on Facebook live to generate as much goodwill as possible for the two organisations. Mary has already raised almost €5,000 thanks to the amazing support of her family, friends and public donations.
Donegal Hospice Nurse Mary Coyle
Mary’s campaign began at the beginning of May, after she got approval from her two sons!
Mary told Donegal Daily: “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and when everyone was stuck in lockdown I was talking more about it and convincing the two boys to let me do it.
“When I got the green light from them, I thought that’s it. There are no occasions, we’re going nowhere so this is the perfect time to do it.”
Mary has worked at Donegal Hospice since 2004. While staff are coping well with Covid-19 guidelines, she said the hospice will soon face financial pressure from the impact of the pandemic.
“All the events that are usually planned for fundraising are cancelled,” she said.
“The Hospice supported my own family 8 years ago to look after my Dad at home. They were so good and this is a thank you for that support.”
Pieta House will face similar challenges in 2020, and Mary also wanted to support their work with her fundraiser.
“I knew that the Darkness into Light isn’t going ahead that is something I would have done. Pieta House and the Hospice are run by the goodwill and support of people. I knew funds would be down for both charities so I wanted to try and help both,” she said.
Looking ahead to Sunday, Mary said she is both excited and nervous about parting with her hair. But she is happy to help two vital funds and “give people something other than COVID to talk about!”.
If you would like to donate to Mary Coyle’s Head Shave Fund, please visit: https://www.idonate.ie/MarysheadshaveDonegalHospicePietaHouse
The fundraiser will stay open until 31st May 2020.
