Send Deirdre to Ireland
Donation protected
Deirdre just finished her breast cancer treatment. It’s been a physically, mentally, emotionally and financially challenging time. I can’t think of anything that would lift her spirits more than a trip to Donegal, Ireland to visit her family for the first time in more than two decades.
If you know Deirdre, you know she's constantly helping, supporting, and encouraging others – oftentimes complete strangers. She’s lived in the Memphis area for more than two decades, and during that time has served as a hands-on volunteer and helped organize fundraising drives and events for numerous charitable causes. She’s literally given the coat off her back to people in need and personally collected items for victims of domestic violence and natural disasters. She has also adopted numerous unwanted animals over the years and rescued dozens more from situations of abandonment, cruelty, and neglect.
Even recently, while undergoing surgery and radiation that resulted in painful side effects, Deirdre continued to contribute to her community, from running races to raise money for charities like St. Jude Children's Research Hospital to working to help protect and heal victims of child abuse at Memphis Child Advocacy Center.
She’s also a loving wife and devoted mother of three children, as well as a dance mom, baseball mom, and mom to four rescued four-legged kids. She’s spent her life caring for everyone else – from children to two terminally ill parents -- but rarely does anything to treat herself.
She's been a staple of the Memphis community for so long, and in all that time, she's never once returned to visit her family in Ireland, where the majority reside. She's been busy raising three children, working tremendously hard to provide for them.
Both of Deirdre’s parents died when she was young, and she has almost no family in the U.S. on her late mother's side. Now, for the first time ever, her mother’s relatives from around the world will gather in Donegal the week of July 23 for a big four-day family reunion, complete with music, ceili dancing, mountain climbing, and even a family soccer match.
Deirdre needs to spend a week not being a cancer patient, but a member of an extended family that she’s missed being a part of for so long out. (Those are her kid pics). It would truly lift her spirits to see Mt. Errigal again, revisit the church where her parents were married, swim in the Atlantic waters, and visit her relatives’ homes for tea and storytelling by the turf fire. This is the perfect time for her to reconnect with a place that was so much a part of her younger life. It would be an incredibly healing experience for her and give her so many joyful memories for years to come.
We’ve already arranged for her to have time off from work. Her boss has granted permission and her colleagues have donated their PTO. We’ve also arranged for her to be met by family at the airport. Being the humble, selfless, and stubborn woman she is, Deirdre would be mortified that we're fundraising for her, so if you feel compelled to donate to her travel, PLEASE DON’T TELL HER. We don’t want her to know anything until she’s got the airplane ticket in hand. We encourage you to share this on social media, PLEASE HIDE IT FROM HER. Thanks!
If you know Deirdre, you know she's constantly helping, supporting, and encouraging others – oftentimes complete strangers. She’s lived in the Memphis area for more than two decades, and during that time has served as a hands-on volunteer and helped organize fundraising drives and events for numerous charitable causes. She’s literally given the coat off her back to people in need and personally collected items for victims of domestic violence and natural disasters. She has also adopted numerous unwanted animals over the years and rescued dozens more from situations of abandonment, cruelty, and neglect.
Even recently, while undergoing surgery and radiation that resulted in painful side effects, Deirdre continued to contribute to her community, from running races to raise money for charities like St. Jude Children's Research Hospital to working to help protect and heal victims of child abuse at Memphis Child Advocacy Center.
She’s also a loving wife and devoted mother of three children, as well as a dance mom, baseball mom, and mom to four rescued four-legged kids. She’s spent her life caring for everyone else – from children to two terminally ill parents -- but rarely does anything to treat herself.
She's been a staple of the Memphis community for so long, and in all that time, she's never once returned to visit her family in Ireland, where the majority reside. She's been busy raising three children, working tremendously hard to provide for them.
Both of Deirdre’s parents died when she was young, and she has almost no family in the U.S. on her late mother's side. Now, for the first time ever, her mother’s relatives from around the world will gather in Donegal the week of July 23 for a big four-day family reunion, complete with music, ceili dancing, mountain climbing, and even a family soccer match.
Deirdre needs to spend a week not being a cancer patient, but a member of an extended family that she’s missed being a part of for so long out. (Those are her kid pics). It would truly lift her spirits to see Mt. Errigal again, revisit the church where her parents were married, swim in the Atlantic waters, and visit her relatives’ homes for tea and storytelling by the turf fire. This is the perfect time for her to reconnect with a place that was so much a part of her younger life. It would be an incredibly healing experience for her and give her so many joyful memories for years to come.
We’ve already arranged for her to have time off from work. Her boss has granted permission and her colleagues have donated their PTO. We’ve also arranged for her to be met by family at the airport. Being the humble, selfless, and stubborn woman she is, Deirdre would be mortified that we're fundraising for her, so if you feel compelled to donate to her travel, PLEASE DON’T TELL HER. We don’t want her to know anything until she’s got the airplane ticket in hand. We encourage you to share this on social media, PLEASE HIDE IT FROM HER. Thanks!
Organizer and beneficiary
Aisling Maki
Organizer
Memphis, TN
Deirdre Cordon Oglesby
Beneficiary
