Mayo responder group receives €10,000 cash boost

SPAR Ambassador and Olympic gold medallist Kellie Harrington has announced that the Claremorris South Responder Group were to benefit from a €10,000 presentation from local community retailer SPAR, after they were announced as one of the winners of SPAR’s nationwide Community Fund initiative.

Claremorris South Responder Group are one of six beneficiaries of the SPAR 60th Community Fund initiative, with five other organisations spread across Connacht, Munster and Leinster also receiving €10,000 in funding.

This campaign builds on SPAR’s established Community Fund initiative, which was first launched in December 2021.

Ireland’s leading convenience retailer has now made a direct investment of €80,000 to deserving community projects across the country, something that is indicative of SPAR’s ongoing commitment of giving back to local communities and their customers.

More than 1,100 groups from around the country applied for the third wave of funding provided by the SPAR Community Fund and a club representative from those six groups who were successful recently enjoyed a meet and greet session with SPAR Ambassador and Olympic Champion Kellie Harrington when they engaged in fun activities together and explained more about their community work.

The Claremorris South Responder Group is made up of volunteers trained by the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC) and are dispatched to emergencies 24/7 in the local community to assist the national ambulance service by preserving life until the ambulance reaches the patient in an event of cardiac arrest.

The €10,000 SPAR Community Fund will allow for the updating of crucial training equipment for the group.

Irish Olympian and SPAR Brand Ambassador Kellie Harrington said: "This is a great way of giving back in a meaningful way and seeing vital community work both acknowledged and rewarded.”

* Pictured Olympic Gold Medallist and SPAR brand ambassador Kellie Harrington with, from left, Josephine Finn and Donna Cassidy of Claremorris South Responder Group, and Amanda Ross of National Ambulance Service during the SPAR 60th Community Fund Winners Event at The Avon in The Burgage, Blessington, Wicklow. Photo: Seb Daly/Sportsfile