Athlone Rotary to fundraise this weekend for earthquake victims

The Rotary Club of Athlone will be holding a fundraiser in the town's two shopping centres this weekend in an effort to supply tents and other essentials to victims of the recent devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

The local voluntary organisation will be setting up a tent in the Athlone Towncentre this Saturday (March 4) and in the Golden Island Shopping Centre on Sunday.

Volunteers at the tent will encourage donations to Shelterbox, an international disaster relief charity that provides emergency shelter and supplies to families who have lost their homes.

In addition, the Rotary tent will be set up on the Athlone campus of TUS this Thursday and Friday morning, with Young Rotarians from the technological university involved in the fundraising effort.

To date Athlone Rotary has sent three 'shelterboxes', each containing a tent and a kit with essential equipment including solar lights and cooking pans, to the victims of the disaster which occurred in Turkey and Syria on February 6.

Each shelterbox costs around €400, and the local fundraising in the coming days will aim to help as many people as possible.

"I think a lot of people have been looking or thinking about ways to help, and this is a very practical opportunity," said Ciaran Mannion of the Rotary Club of Athlone.