Portlaoise Panthers, 100km in a week and a massive Truck Run as the ‘Jamie wants to walk’ campaign gathers pace

Trilogy Triathlon Club having been running a campaign on behalf of little Jamie Mannion from Portlaoise for just over two weeks.

To date the club have raised just over €6,100 towards Jamie’s essential therapy treatment in the NAPA centre in the states. Jamie’s target is €50,000 and this amount is towards the cost of his intensive daily treatment which will take over three weeks.

Over the past two weeks Trilogy have been blown away by the response and generosity of it’s campaign supporters, however the campaign is not over and we are still appealing for donations.

Since last Saturday seven brave women took on the task of running 100km in a week for Jamie. (Aoife McEvoy, Eimear Mathews, Olive Maher, Niamh Kavanagh, Hilary Costello, Olwyn Larkin and Pam Grogan).

This is not an easy challenge even for the most avid runner, running just over 62 miles with no break or rest days.

We are appealing to the public to support these wonderful women who have put Jamie in their foremost thoughts this week and will run 700km as a unit.

Their task is not an easy one and each step they take for Jamie brings him closer to his goal.

The plight for Jamie continues as Portlaoise Panthers Basketball Club take over the fundraising gauntlet on Sunday.

The club where Jamie’s older brother Ryan is a member of the U-12s Green Team are running or walking 300km in a day for Jamie.

All club members will be wearing their Panthers attire on their running or walking endeavours so if you are out and about on Sunday please head over to the Panthers page on Facebook and donate what you can.

Jamie’s GoFundMe to date stands at €23,321 (as of Tuesday, June 9, at lunch time.

By the time the weekend is out and both local sports clubs have completed their fundraisers Jamie’s fund should be in the €30k bracket.

So what happens next? Well local haulier Michael Fitzgerald from Brian Buggy Transport in Mountmellick has organised a truck run for Jamie on Saturday, June 20.

The trucks will gather at their meeting point at the Midway Hotel and take to the roads of Portlaoise and Mountmellick and the M7.

Michael is hoping to get as many trucks involved, with each truck driver donating to the campaign. There will also be collection buckets on site at the Midway and online donations can be made directly to Jamie’s GofundMe page.

There is sure to be a buzz around the town especially for young Jamie and his brother Ryan as they will be at the meeting point in the Midway on Saturday morning.

“The last time we did this type of truck run nearly 70 trucks showed up at Dunnes Stores, with the lockdown I know the drivers are eager to hit the roads,” said Michael from Buggy Transport.

If you would like to read more about Jamie’s story head over to Instagram or Facebook and look up Jamie wants to walk campaign both platforms offer a great insight into Jamie’s daily needs and why his treatment is so important.

Jamie’s Mam, Siobhan was on Will Faulkner’s show on Midlands103 on Monday and you can catch up with that interview on the Midlands page on Facebook.

SEE ALSO – Main Street in Portlaoise could be pedestrianised sooner rather than later – can it work?

The post Portlaoise Panthers, 100km in a week and a massive Truck Run as the ‘Jamie wants to walk’ campaign gathers pace appeared first on Laois Today.

source https://www.laoistoday.ie/2020/06/10/portlaoise-panthers-100km-in-a-week-and-a-massive-truck-run-as-the-jamie-wants-to-walk-campaign-gathers-pace/