Sporting heroes across the GAA and rugby worlds united today to kick off this year’s Up the Hill for Jack and Jill summer fundraiser, which is kindly supported by global healthcare company, Abbott.

Connacht Rugby captain and Jack and Jill ambassador, Jack Carty, together with members of the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) – Dublin Footballer Sinéad Wylde, Meath Footballer Vikki Wall and Laois Hurler Ross King – lined out in Dublin’s St Stephen’s Green to urge people to organise an Up the Hill for Jack and Jill community fundraiser this summer.

Going Up the Hill for Jack and Jill is easy! All people have to do is identify a local hill or mountain to suit their fitness and ability and invite friends or family to join in the fun. Each €18 registration fee will help fund one hour of in-home nursing care and end-of-life support for children with highly complex and life-limiting medical conditions, up to the age of six years.

2023 will be the ninth annual Up the Hill for Jack and Jill and organisers are hoping to raise €75,000 for Jack and Jill’s vital services for more than 400 families nationwide – equivalent to 4,167 hours of in-home nursing care and respite support.

For Connacht Rugby’s Jack Carty, this will be the second year in which he has taken part in Up the Hill for Jack and Jill:

“It was actually my dad, Ted, who introduced me to the work of the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation having known its founder, Jonathan Irwin, from dad’s time at Goffs back in the day. The family pork and bacon business, Oliver Carty & family, has been supporting Jack and Jill for a number of years now, and I was delighted to take that a step further, quite literally, by going Up the Hill for Jack and Jill last year. Together with a group of friends, we clambered up Diamond Hill in Connemara and, while the weather wasn’t exactly playing ball, the view of Galway Bay when we reached the top was definitely a silver lining.

“Having met some of the families cared for by Jack and Jill, I know how much they value the support received in allowing them to catch up with their other children or to take some time out to decompress which is so important for their health and well-being. I’m looking forward to going Up the Hill for Jack and Jill once more this year and would encourage others to get involved too. It’s a great way to get some fresh air, free your mind, catch up with friends and, most importantly, raise funds for a great cause.”

Little Grayson Adams (age three), from Beaumont in Dublin, has been diagnosed with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC), also known as tuberous sclerosis. This is a very rare genetic condition that causes non-cancerous (benign) tumours to grow in the brain and several areas of the body, including the spinal cord, nerves, eyes, lung, heart, kidneys, and skin. For mum Dawn Adams, the support provided by Jack and Jill means so much:

“Without Jack and Jill, I wouldn’t get any time to myself. Grayson’s care is 24 hours a day. His condition means he has global developmental delay, cognitive and physical delay, is non-verbal and cannot walk. He also suffers from chronic epilepsy and has multiple seizures every day. It’s impossible to get childcare because people are afraid to mind him because of the seizures.

“When Grayson is with his Jack and Jill nurse, I know that he is 100% safe so I can have a much-needed rest. This precious time is the only break I get where I can fully switch off. I use the time to sleep, shower or catch up on everyday things like laundry – little things that are simply impossible to do while caring for a child with such complex needs.”

For Dublin Footballer and GPA member Sinéad Wylde, every game is an endurance test. But the endurance capacity of Jack and Jill families in supporting their children day in, day out, is next-level:

“Jack and Jill is a gift of time for so many families who face very tough challenges in their home life. These families have a massive amount of resilience, but they need, and deserve, a break to enable them to recharge and face the next challenge. As a proud member of the Gaelic Players Association, I’m inviting our wonderful community of players and supporters to go Up the Hill with Jack and Jill, and the GPA, this summer, as we support these inspiring families who just need a helping hand every once in a while, from their Jack and Jill nurse.”

According to Carmel Doyle, CEO of the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation, going Up the Hill for Jack and Jill is a really valuable way to support the uphill challenge faced by Jack and Jill families in their daily lives.

“We know there is no care like home care for a Jack and Jill child, and we want to do everything that we can to support parents in caring for their child at home in their communities, where they belong. Every €18 raised helps to provide one hour of in-home nursing care and it really is a lifeline to so many families who face an uphill challenge every day. I hope people will come together for our extra-special Jack and Jill children to show them how much they care and to help make parents feel a little less isolated and alone in raising a child with highly complex medical needs.”

Partnering with the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation’s Up the Hill 2023 campaign is Abbott. For Conor Murphy, a Site Director with Abbott, the partnership reflects a shared commitment to helping local communities:

“Abbott are proud to be partnering with Jack and Jill and supporting their Up the Hill campaign. We have been inspired by Jack and Jill’s commitment to providing compassionate care to children and their families right across Ireland. We are excited to contribute to their vital work once again this year.”

For more information or to register for Up the Hill for Jack and Jill 2023, visit www.jackandjill.ie, email info@jackandjill.ie or call 045 894538.

Or why not check out this 30-second video which has the full lowdown on how to go Up the Hill for Jack and Jill this summer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDX9W5xw2lI

Follow on social media at:
Facebook @JackandJillFoundation
Twitter @JackandJillCF
Instagram @JackandJillCF
LinkedIn @The Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation

#SupportLocal #DonateLocal #CommunityMatters #UptheHill23

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Image credit: Sportsfile