A Donegal holiday fundraiser dedicated in memory of Letterkenny businessman Richard Finney has raised £1,170 for Pieta.
Richard, the well-known wine and coffee expert and founder of The Counter Deli, passed away suddenly in September of last year.
Pieta House was always a charity very close to Richard’s heart and The Counter Deli has been a staunch supporter of the Darkness Into Light initiative for many years. This year there will be added poignancy as family, staff and customers continue Richard’s generous legacy.
Previous Darkness Into Light events were followed up with a heartwarming coffee fundraiser in The Counter Deli. This year the fundraising runs in store throughout the week.
Last month, Richard’s sister Karen Parkinson collaborated with Prize-Getaways.com to promote a hugely successful charity raffle.
The prize draw offered a two-night stay in a five star holiday home in Portnoo. The fundraiser was seen as a win-win for all, with Pieta benefitting from the £1,170 proceeds which will fund services to people in distress and to families mourning loss from suicide.
Karen, who lives in Belfast, will also join the Letterkenny community this Saturday to chart the Darkness Into Light 5k which is deeply meaningful to many. To support please visit; www.darknessintolight.ie/fundraisers/karenparkinson
Reflecting on her brother’s passing, Karen said: “It was such a tragedy for our family, we miss him terribly and we would love to find something positive to come out of it, and to remember him by.
“It’s lovely to see Richard’s memory connected with supporting Pieta and raising the profile.”
Pauline Huth of Prize-getaways.com presenting the fundraising cheque to Karen Parkinson in memory of her brother Richard Finney.
Prize-getaways.com Director Pauline Huth said: “As we have strong Donegal links with many of the prizes featuring stays in luxury Donegal properties, we wanted to do something for charity and Pieta House is very deserving. We are really pleased to be able to do this for them and a special thanks to all who bought tickets.”
Adding to this, The Counter Deli is inviting their supportive customer community to donate to Pieta all this week, offering exciting giveaways in return.
As always on the day of Darkness Into Light, all proceeds from hot drinks at the cafe will be donated to Pieta.
However, as this year’s walk takes off from An Danlann at ATU, the Counter Deli will not be open straight after the walk. Instead, the team will be accepting donations throughout the week and with each donation, people will be entered into a draw to win some “awesome Counter prizes”. There will also be spot prizes on the 11th May so make sure to call in and support this great cause.
If you need to talk to someone, contact Pieta by phoning Freecall 1800 247 247. Or if you can simply text HELP to 51444.
