Seven Portlaoise girls fundraise for Kolkata volunteer mission

Seven Laois students are carrying out a tricky little fundraiser on Portlaoise Main Street this weekend, ahead of a huge mercy mission to India.

The girls are Transition Year students at Scoil Chríost Rí in Portlaoise, and they are going to fly to Kolkata to volunteer help and bring money for the HOPE Immersion Programme, which helps people suffering in slums and abject poverty.

The volunteers are Roisin Murphy, Abbey Louise Byrne, Tilly O'Donnell, Aoibheann Stynes, Robyn O'Callaghan, Ailbhe Carroll and Carina O'Hanlon.

They must each raise €2,500 to donate to the programmes helping street children and slum dwellers.

To kickstart that huge fundraising goal, the seven are going to line up coins along Main Street, starting in Market Square and see how far they can get.

That attempt will take place this Saturday, December 1, from 9am to 4pm, and the public are asked to help the girls by filling their donation buckets as they go. The girls will also be selling HOPE chocolates at €2 each.

They have an online fundraiser too, and thanks to local businesses are selling raffle tickets for hampers.

The seven decided to volunteer for the five day trip in October 2024, after being inspired by a talk in their school by HOPE's Leinster fundraising and schools officer Sheila Zebedee.

"It will be great to see first hand the change that the money we raise could make, and how HOPE projects make a difference," Roisin told the Leinster Express.

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"It's meant to be lifechanging. We will see the medical care in the hospitals, and be walking through slums," Ailbhe said.

While in Kolkata, the group will visit HOPE's residential childcare homes, hospital, education centres and creches, life skills vocational centre and most of all, meet street children and slum dwelling families who are born into a world of abject poverty.

"HOPE's vision is of a world where it never hurt to be a child, and we are very grateful to Scoil Chriost Ri for helping us to realise this vision," Sheila Zebedee said.

The seven girls also have set up an online fundraiser, see the link here.  see their Instagram page here.