THE Annual Milford Care Centre’s Harvest Fair which, like all other public events, fell foul of the Covid pandemic over the past two years, will no longer feature in the Centre’s annual fundraising activities.
Having considered the future of this very popular event, which would be heading into its 35th year, the board and management team have decided to discontinue running the fair.
Harvest Fair Committee chairman Joseph Murphy said that a decision of this magnitude was not easy to make as the fair contributed enormously to Milford’s fundraising efforts over the past 34 years.
“However, the continuing challenges of the pandemic, and escalating costs with diminishing returns makes holding the Harvest Fair untenable,” he explained.
“The loss of the fair will impact on the Centre’s fundraising efforts, but the board and management are working closely with the fundraising department to seek alternative fundraising streams given the impact the pandemic continues to have on traditional channels.”
“The Harvest Fair owed its success and longevity to the contribution of the many volunteers who worked so tirelessly down through the years. On behalf of the entire Milford Care Centre community, I would like to thank them for their dedication, time and support.
“I would also like to acknowledge the generosity of the communities from Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary that the Fair has received over the last 34 years. Our thanks also to the many local businesses and statutory bodies for their support down through the years,” Mr Murphy added.
Expressing her regret at the decision to cease this annual event, Milford Care Centre’s Chief Executive Mary O’Brien added: “Decisions of this nature are never easy to make as the fair was the cornerstone of our fundraising for so long. However, we will work tirelessly to find alternative innovative fundraising solutions.
“We remain committed to providing the best care that we can to support both inpatient and community services across Limerick, Clare and North Tipperary. The ongoing generous support we receive from the people of the Mid-West enables us to deliver specialist palliative care to these communities and we look forward to strengthening these links in the coming months and years,” Ms O’Brien said.
