A NUMBER of charity fundraising events will take place across the city and county this Christmas.
Now a staple of Christmas for many, the annual GOAL Mile will return this year to raise finds for GOAL and its work helping communities worldwide to respond and recover from humanitarian crises.
Five GOAL Mile events will take place across the county on Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day to raise vital funds.
The Crecora GAA pitch will see a GOAL Mile kick off at 12pm on Christmas Day, with the University of Limerick Athletics track also having an event from 11am to 1pm.
Fedamore GAA Grounds will see a GOAL Mile take place from 11.30am, as well as the Ballybrown Resource Centre on Christmas Day from 12 noon.
On St Stephen’s Day, the Castle Demense Park in Newcastle West will see runners and walkers rush out from 10am for their GOAL Mile.
Supported by AIB, the annual fundraiser sees people run a mile to raise money for GOAL.
Funds raised go towards GOAL’s humanitarian aid programmes in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Ukraine.
This year, there are over 150 GOAL Mile locations to choose from and it is expected that over 25,000 people will participate, meaning 50 million steps will be taken across all events.
Eamon Sharkey, director of fundraising and communications at GOAL, said: “During 2023, we have witnessed a deadly mix of crises because of conflict and natural disaster across the world and GOAL has responded to all these crises, helping communities affected move from crisis to resilience.”
“We are now asking people across Ireland to register for their local GOAL Mile and make whatever contribution they can so that we can continue this life-saving work.”
AIB Group CEO Colin Hunt added that the bank “is delighted to continue to support GOAL, one of Ireland’s largest humanitarian response agencies. Participating in the GOAL Mile enables communities across the island of Ireland to come together to help vulnerable communities.”
“In this, the third year of our proud partnership with GOAL, we are encouraging the people of Ireland to celebrate this uniquely Irish tradition and to step up together by registering for the GOAL Mile and walk 2,000 steps in support of GOAL’s year-round work.”
Anyone interested in taking part in their local GOAL Mile can register on GoalMile.org.
