A Reading Wonderland

Laura Woods and Síle Seoige celebrate the MS READaTHON Ceremony Awards 2010 

Irish celebrities Síle Seoige and Laura Woods were joined by ‘Alice’, the ‘Mad Hatter’ and hoards of ‘Cheshire Cats’ from ‘Alice in Wonderland’ on 10th March to thank a selection of the 25,000 young people, teachers and librarians from all over Ireland who participated in this year’s MS READaTHON, a sponsored read in aid of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Ireland. Irish authors Sarah Webb and Oisín McGann presented prizes on the day. 

In response to a call from MS Ireland to ‘Read and Raise for a Wordy Cause’, an astonishing 500,000 books were read by pupils, aged 6-16 years, in 626 schools nationwide during October and November last year, raising a fantastic sum of €1 million to fund services for families affected by MS, a progressive neurological condition that impacts the motor, sensory and cognitive functioning of the body.

Cheryl Gunning, MS READaTHON Manager at MS Ireland said, "The ongoing success of the campaign would not be possible without the invaluable support of parents, schools, libraries and in particular the enthusiasm of the children themselves. The awards ceremony gives us a chance to thank some of the participants who read and raised so much money for us. The recession has hit MS Ireland hard with our overall funding down by approximately 15%.  Now, more than ever, our fundraising campaigns are vitally important to sustain our services to people with MS.  Although every child participating in the campaign receives a thank you gift, today’s ceremony is an extra thank you to those who played an extra special part in MS READaTHON.”

Everyone at the Awards Ceremony were treated to face painters, clowns, magicians, sweets and treats and a special screening of “Alice in Wonderland 3D”.

Alice in Wonderland, Laura Woods, Síle Seoige, The Mad Hatter celebrate the MS READaTHON Ceremony Awards with some of our avid readers

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