Rosie Connolly raises €287,636 for Temple Street and Crumlin Children’s Hospital

Rosie Connolly has raised €287,636 for Temple Street Children’s Hospital and Crumlin Children’s Hospital.

The massive sum was raised in less than two weeks, after the mum-of-two started a giveaway offering her followers the opportunity to win a Gucci bag. All they had to do was donate a minimum of €5 to the cause, with Rosie's original goal being to raise €5,000 for the charities. However, since the fundraiser was launched on December 9, she managed to raise €287,636 for the charities - and she presented them with the cheque as she attended CMRF’s annual Christmas ward walk today. She posted a photo of herself with the cheque on her Instagram account on Friday, where she thanked her followers for all of their support. "Proud. There's. no other word to describe how I feel about every single person who donated to my fundraiser for @cmrf_crumlin and @temple_street_foundation," she began in the caption.

 

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A post shared by Rosie Connolly-Quinn (@rosieconxxx) on Dec 20, 2019 at 6:41am PST

"You made this happen, and today I got to present the money and also had the privilege of walking the wards and meeting the tiniest hero’s with the biggest brightest smiles.. I’ve no words for the staff, parents and children who are spending this Christmas in hospital... we are all thinking of you." In her original post, Rosie explained how she was inspired to start the fundraiser after she was given the opportunity to raise money for the children’s hospital in Crumlin earlier in the year. "They had invited me in to walk the wards and see just where that money would be going. I can’t tell you how much that day changed me. I fought back the tears, thinking 'why am I crying when there are parents here who are broken hearted and worried about their sick children?'," she wrote.

 

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A post shared by Rosie Connolly-Quinn (@rosieconxxx) on Dec 9, 2019 at 11:35am PST

"As I passed one of the beautiful babies in the heart unit, I glanced in only to be greeted by the biggest smile from a mother caring for her baby... I couldn’t believe that she had the energy to look up, never mind smile at a total stranger," Rosie continued. "And that’s when one of the team explained that these children are going through the toughest time of their little lives, but their parents know that they are in the best possible hands and the hospitals are doing all they can for them. I couldn’t let the year go by without doing something to say THANK YOU to two of Dublin’s children’s hospitals - @temple_street_foundation and @cmrf_crumlin."