Today Musgrave announced that the 2014 Musgrave Triathlon raised €200,000 for charity. The beneficiaries, Breakthrough Cancer Research and CMRF Crumlin, the fundraising body for Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin received €100,000 each. The Musgrave Triathlon, which is now in its fourteenth year, has raised over €3.7 million for Irish charities to date.
The 2015 Musgrave Triathlon will take place in Farran Woods, Co. Cork on Saturday August 29th 2015. The event involves an 800m swim, followed by 33km cycle and 10km run. The triathlon attracts over 500 participants every year, made up of staff from Musgrave, SuperValu and Centra stores across Ireland and suppliers. The triathlon is a fun challenge, with the sole purpose of raising as much funds as possible for charity.
Breakthrough Cancer Research will use the €100,000 donation to construct a new lab for cell sorting and analysis, which will be ready in November 2015. This lab will allow them to analyse, down to a single cell, how their new treatments are working against cancers. It will enable their scientists to understand how the cancer cells are responding to new treatments in real time. It also determines if the immune system is engaged and importantly, it will help to fast track the most effective approaches to clinical trial and patients.
Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin will use the €100,000 to purchase two additional ultrasound machines as well as contributing towards the Giggle Fund which focuses on putting a smile on the faces of patients. Whether that is simply by celebrating their birthday with a party or getting to be a teenager in the teenage den, the fund is there to make a child’s stay in hospital just a little more bearable.
Martin Kelleher, Managing Director, Musgrave Retail Partners Ireland said, “We are very proud of the fundraising achievements of the Musgrave Triathlon and the real momentum it continues to generate each year. More and more people are taking to sport and focusing on health, so it makes sense that we use this trend to help raise monies to fight one of the most widespread diseases in this country. I am delighted that Musgrave, together with our retail partners in SuperValu and Centra, can help raise vital funds to make a considerable contribution to worthy causes that touch every community across Ireland”.
Orla Dolan, Fundraising Director, Breakthrough Cancer Research commented, “We are tremendously grateful for the amazing support we receive from the Musgrave Triathlon. Musgrave have raised a phenomenal amount for our cancer research programmes and are helping us improve cancer care for patients throughout Ireland.”
Joe Quinsey, CEO of CMRF Crumlin said: “We are driven in our belief that every sick child deserves every chance. They and their families deserve to receive world class care in a world class environment with the most up to date, technologically advanced equipment. The money received from Musgrave will go a long way towards helping some of Ireland’s sickest children – the 130,000 children who pass through Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin every year.”
More information on the triathlon can be found on www.musgrave-triathlon.com or the Musgrave Triathlon Facebook page – www.facebook.com/musgravetriathlon.