A special event for IMPACT members and their families, to celebrate the beginning of the Christmas season and to raise donations for the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP), took place at Rumley’s Open Farm at the end of November.

The event,organised by IMPACT's Cork branch, proved so popular with members that 100 tickets had to be allocated through a lottery sytstem, and drew in applications from over 500 interested members.

IMPACT organiser Linda Kelly said Rumley’s open farm provided a truly magical setting for the event, and members enjoyed a fun filled day highlighted with a visit by Santa Claus himself. Linda said that members were encouraged to bring along a gift on the day to be donated to the SVP. “We were completely overwhelmed by the generosity of our members. The volume of donations gathered was beyond our expectations,” she said.

The gifts were collected by SVP member Brendan Dempsey on Monday. Linda added, "The donations completely filled the van. Contributions included clothes and food, all of which are so beneficial to families at this time of year. There were also some beautiful toys, including Lego, colouring sets, One Direction merchandise and much much more."

Brendan added,“These high quality toys will ensure that many boys and girls in the Cork area will wake up on Christmas morning and have wonderful presents to open. The Society of St Vincent de Paul and the broader community hugely appreciate the generosity shown by IMPACT members and their families.

"This Christmas, over 140,000 families in communities across the country will ask SVP for help with food, presents and basic clothing. The donations made by the Cork branch members will help us to bring some Christmas joy and warmth to many families in Cork communities," he said.

Louise Guiney is a Masters' student in Journalism and New Media.

You can make a donation to the work of the Society of St VIncent de Paul HERE.