Daughters of Charity - Child & Family Service

I am running the Dublin City Marathon.. If you haven't heard me talk about it, here is your chance.. Yes, I am one of those people who say 'I'm a runner now'.... Sorry...

So in October of 2023, after seeing everybody share their achievements of completing the Dublin Marathon, I said I want a piece of that. I signed up, and thought to myself, if I get in I'll take it seriously and here I am, 9 weeks out.. I started my running journey on 1st Jan and have continued it right up until now, giving up alcohol and really taking it serious.. If you don't know me, I am very stubborn but even for me to stick this out is surprising..

As the weeks went by, I thought to myself what is close to my heart that will push me through when times are tough on race day?

Here is my story......

Not everybody will know, but as a child, along with my brother we were both put into foster care. This, as a child, was scary and frightening because you look for your parents to guide you on right & wrong, and help you when times are tough. Luckily, we had an amazing family who continued to support us through the journey even with some hiccups along the way. From living in temple street wards with sick kids, moving around homes, to finally being fostered. At this point, I thought it was all finally over, but that didn't work out and I was put back into foster care. Not only that, but it was at this point I was split up from my brother. Growing up, I tried to hide my identity, embarrassed & ashamed to develop friendships because you may be moved on.

A lot of the sentiments that you hold as a child are missing from my life and as I grew older, along with being placed back into foster care, I didn't know where I was going to end up. My life changed the day, at 13 I found out I was being fostered by my amazing aunt & uncle.

I could have gone down a very different path to the one I ended up on, and that is a credit to those around me. There is a stigma that if you come from a broken home, you are a broken person but that isn't true. P.S - I was very much a brat growing up so whilst you read the positives, still know I didn't miss an opportunity to be bold...

Not every kid was that lucky, and I witnessed some kids have tough times at Christmas or birthdays not having family around. Nobody should feel unwanted, unloved & abandoned.

The Daughters of Charity, are an amazing organization (non-profit) who gave me the foundations to grow, as a kid, into the adult I am today. They provided presents every year for birthdays and Christmas, brought us away on holidays and allowed my amazing family to be involved in my life, and when the opportunity presented itself for my Aunt & Uncle to foster me, they gave every assistance they could to make this happen.

I also had a very loving and caring respite family which the DoC provided as another service.

It is also a charity I very rarely, if ever see much fundraising for so this holds extra importance for me.

Whilst the DoC have stepped away from fostering/adoption services, they still provide a number of services to children & families in the greater Dublin region. Follow this link to find out more - DoC Home Page

On the 7th Nov, I will present all funds raised at a 40 year anniversary event for the DoC in Croke Park and speak about my journey as a child.

Feel free to share for a wider reach, much love ❤️ see you at the finish line.