Letterkenny audiologist Martina McNulty has been recognised for her support of her local community and charities.
Starting her career in Specsavers Letterkenny in 2006, Martina quickly moved up the ranks, becoming a qualified audiologist in 2016. Martina now oversees the audiology business for the Letterkenny store and was recently promoted to the role of Specsavers Ireland Audiology Chairperson.
Martina also recently featured as part of Specsavers Audiologist Next Door campaign with a video diary highlighting her involvement with charities and groups in the local community. Martina and the Letterkenny store have been consistently raising funds in-store and through locally organised events to support charities in the local community.
Specsavers Letterkenny has been involved in sponsoring children’s sports events and activity camps such as the M32 Easter Soccer Camp. This camp was set up to get children active and involved in sports. The camp focused on promoting positive mental health and wellbeing and ensuring all children are involved regardless of their capabilities.
Martina was also involved in raising money for the Neonatal Ward in Letterkenny General Hospital. Her passion for fundraising for them came from Martina’s first-hand experience at the neonatal ward with the early birth of her second child. The store hosted a bake sale and staff also dressed up and did face painting for any children that were in the store that week. As a result, the store raised almost €3,000.
Martina was also eager to support the Donegal Hospice as colleagues and friends of the store had family members that had been admitted to the hospice for care. For this, the store organised a Hell and Back Challenge as well as an in store static charity cycle and bake sale with donations for both going directly to the hospice.
Martina’s charity work does not end there. Martina and her colleagues at the Letterkenny store have been involved in raising much needed funds for the Mica Action Group. The organisation consists of Donegal homeowners who have come together in a bid to combat destruction caused to local homes by mica in Donegal and surrounding areas. Mica has been known to destroy homes from the inside out, causing many to crumble or fall into disrepair.
Martina’s passion for supporting her local community amidst the mica crisis in Donegal has seen massive support from Specsavers Letterkenny in terms of their continued sponsorship of the annual Ballyliffin Costal Challenge run. Martina and her colleagues from the store have been involved in this event for many years, with this year’s run dedicated to raising funds for the Mica Action Group.
Martina states ‘The Ballyliffin Coastal Run is something that we have been a part of for a few years now, however, the cause this year was something that we were particularly eager to get behind and help get funds for. The families that have been affected by the mica crisis have been living in houses that are quite literally falling down around them and we wanted to raise awareness and donations to help them’.
This year’s Ballyliffin Costal Challenge Run took place on April 16, with over 1,000 entrants participating in the run, including colleagues from the Letterkenny store rising to the challenge. Donation boxes were present in the Letterkenny store, which saw many generous contributions from customers and members of the local community alike.
Following the success of the event, Martina stated: ‘We are honoured to have been involved in contributing towards an amazing cause and supporting families living in Donegal who have been suffering from the devastating effects that mica has had on their homes. Through store donations combined with funds raised by the Ballyliffin Coastal Challenge, together we were able to raise over €6,000 for the Mica Action Group, which will go towards homeowners in Donegal to support their bid in a full redress to damage caused by mica and pyrite in their homes’.
Speaking about her career at Specsavers and her involvement in the local community, Martina stated, ‘Working in Specsavers has been life changing for me and my family. The opportunities to progress in either Optics or Audiology are endless. They are very involved in their local communities also and the Letterkenny team never shy away from a charity event.
‘I have been extremely fortunate in my career and have had the opportunity to help many people. It has been a privilege to have these opportunities afforded to me, so I am thankful to Specsavers for working with me as we bring the best in eyecare and hear care to our communities at home and supporting local causes that I am incredibly passionate about.’
To book an appointment at Specsavers Letterkenny, visit Specsavers at Letterkenny at 64 Port Road, Gortlee, or call (074) 916 7040. See www.specsavers.ie for more details.
