Pack your bags and help asthma sufferers
by JULIE-ANN SPENCE
Poppy Laverty
A LISBURN family are so grateful for the help of a local charity that they have organised a series of fundraising events to say thank you.
Just over a year ago five-year-old Poppy Laverty was diagnosed with asthma. Since then she has been very ill and the family have received much-needed support from the Northern Ireland branch of Asthma UK.
"Poppy's diagnosis has changed our lives completely. She has been very ill this year and we have needed the Asthma UK/NI charities help on many occasions," explained her mother Michelle.
"Due to this we feel it's so important to give something back, all funds will be donated to the Northern Ireland Branch."
The Laverty family will be holding a bag pack at Sainsbury's at Sprucefield on Saturday August 13 and plans are underway for a charity sky dive and a charity evening.
"I am so grateful to Sainsbury's for giving us this opportunity and I hope that people shopping on this day can feel free to talk to us if they have Asthma or know someone who suffers from this illness," continued Michelle.
"One person every seven hours dies in the UK with Asthma but with better knowledge, and understanding 90% of these deaths could be prevented."
Joan O'Hagan, the Director of Asthma UK Northern Ireland branch thanked Michelle for her fundraising efforts.
Dedicated
'Asthma UK Northern Ireland is the charity dedicated to improving the quality of life for the 182,00 people (45,000 children) with asthma in Northern Ireland" she said.
"We do this by funding research, providing services, information, and lobbying government departments. We rely solely on donations and are very grateful to Michelle, whom we have been working with, for all her ongoing efforts to fundraise on our behalf.'
Michelle is still in need of more volunteers to help out with the bag pack next Saturday. If you would like to help with the fundraising effort, Michelle can be contacted on 07514899439.
julieann.spence@ulsterstar.co.uk
Ulster Star
05/08/2011
