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The team at Specsavers Newry has made a significant donation to Eimear’s Wish, the NI charity who raise stem cell donor awareness and help people searching for a stranger who is willing to donate their stem cells.
The team were inspired by Newry’s Daniel Greer (14), who recently received a stem cell transplant after a suitable donor was found thanks to a huge awareness drive by his family, which was supported by Eimear’s Wish. The Greers put the Opticians in touch with Eimear’s Wish, a registered NI charity which shares the same passion as the Greers to get as many people as possible signed up on to the stem cell donation register.
A cheque for £1,000 was presented at Specsavers’ Buttercrane Shopping Centre store to Eimear’s dad, Seán Smyth, who has been campaigning since Eimear’s death in 2019, after she was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma three years previously.
Seán promised his daughter that they would raise awareness for stem cell donation in her memory, and that they would have fun doing it! From pink glazed donuts in partnership with Taboo and their Donuts for Donors campaign, to creating Eimear’s Wish Gin, the family has kept Eimear’s joyful memory alive.
Sharon Fegan, Retail Director at Specsavers Newry said; “When local lad Daniel Greer was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, we wanted to do anything we could to help. Many of our team have signed up to be on the donor register, and the Greers put us in contact with Seán and the Eimear’s Wish charity so we could fundraise in her memory and for Daniel’s fight.
“We took inspiration from the way Eimear’s family and friends campaign in her memory and opened a tuck shop in-store. Nobody can resist a wee sweet treat, and we were all excited to see what would be in tuck shop each day… it was like being back at school!
“We are really proud that our collective sweet tooths have raised so much for this very deserving charity and we will continue to follow Daniel’s progress and wish him and his family all the very best.”
Seán Smyth added; “In the past few years since Eimear died, the family has been so humbled by the amount of people and businesses who want to keep Eimear’s wish going and help us raise awareness for stem cell donation, organ donation and blood cancer. Funds like these help us ensure that we can continue to help families like the Greer’s and raise stem cell donor awareness to create hope for people with life threatening illnesses like blood cancer and other blood diseases. So that in the future, nobody will have to lose their child like we have.
“It was great to meet the team at Specsavers Newry, and to be presented with this cheque which will go straight into our fundraising pot. Every penny we raise is used to promote stem cell donor awareness, and no one at the charity receives any payment, and this helps us continue to do what we do. We are so grateful for their support.”
Eimear’s Wish is now working with Anthony Nolan – the UK-wide charity that makes lifesaving connections between patients in need and incredible strangers who are ready to donate their stem cells. The charity also holds weekly stem cell donor drives throughout Northern Ireland.
Read more about Eimear’s Wish via eimearswish.org and for more on Specsavers Newry, visit specsavers.co.uk
