Hospital staff donate to Aoibheann's Pink Tie

Staff members at Midlands Regional Hospital in Mullingar have made their first charity donation from a recycling project that is helping the environment and sick children.

“We are a group of multi task attendants working in post natal, ante natal and delivery working on Level D and we thought we’d start collecting the bottles and cans that are left all around the place and give them to a worthy cause,” Karen Lawlor, one of the organisers, said.

”We launched the hospital-wide recycling initiative to collect returnable cans and bottles, with all proceeds benefiting various charities,” Karen told the Examiner.

“We raised €500 for Aoibheann’s Pink Tie, a charity dedicated to supporting families of children undergoing cancer treatment.

“Our next beneficiary will be FirstLight, an organisation providing support to families who have experienced the sudden loss of a child.”

Karen says the programme is in full swing: “To make participation easy, we’ve placed green recycling bins throughout the hospital. They are designated for collecting returnable cans and bottles.”

The scheme will support a range of charities: “Every time we collect €500, we will pick out the next one. There’s a suggestion box located outside the hospital canteen. We will encourage everyone to submit the name of a charity they’d like us to support next.”

The initiative has really caught on: “A lot of staff are bringing in bottles from home, which is great. Everybody’s been really helpful.”