A Donegal family’s sponsored silence has become something to shout about after they raised an incredible €16,000…. and counting.
The extended Mullen family and their cousin, Sarah Neely from Gartan, gave up talking for over 100 hours this month in aid of the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association.
Their efforts were in support of their uncle, Charlie Boyle, who has been living with motor neurone disease for four years.
The support Charlie received from the IMNDA inspired his family to do something to give back.
Charlie, who lives in Gartan, still has his speech. However, more than 80% of people living with MND will experience some form of speech difficulty during their illness – some will lose their voice completely.
Charlie Boyle
When the #Voice4MND sponsored silence campaign came along, Charlie’s family embraced the challenge and the chance to raise much-needed funds and awareness of the charity.
Valentine’s Day 2021 was a very quiet day for Paddy Mullen and his wife and children. The Ballybofey-based family completed their silence on this day, while Paddy’s siblings and their families joined in to clock up a total of 105 hours of silence. Some even completed a silent 5k!
And their silence spoke volumes.
The family has been blown away by the support they have received, with two fundraising pages gathering over €16,000.
“To raise that type of money is amazing. You do these things expecting to raise a few hundred euro, but we can’t believe the generous support,” Paddy said.
“Charlie has been overwhelmed and humbled by everyone’s generosity.”
The fundraising pages will stay open for another while. All money raised in #Voice4MND will be used to fund frontline nursing service, extra home care hours and critical equipment for people with motor neurone disease.
There are currently more than 400 people affected by the debilitating disease in Ireland.
IMNDA provides communication aids like iPads with Predictable App so people with affected speech can still have conversations with their loved ones. In 2020, the IMNDA spent over €111,000 alone on communication aids.
Visit the Mullen Family sponsorship page at : https://fundraise.imnda.ie/fundraisers/paddyaislingmullen/voice-4-mnd
Visit Sarah Neely’s campaign page at: https://fundraise.imnda.ie/fundraisers/sarahneely/voice-4-mnd
