SVP South-West “blown away” by immense public support as €248,000 raised from annual car draw

St Vincent De Paul South-West has thanked the public for its “immense” support of their Annual Car Draw Appeal as they confirmed that €248,000 was raised from the 2022 Car Draw Appeal.  

The total amount was raised through ticket sales and donations to both SVP Cork and Kerry since the Car Draw’s launch in November last year. 

The Society have said they are humbled by the generosity of the public during extremely an extremely difficult and challenging period.  

SVP South-West Regional President Paddy O’Flynn said the much-needed funds would be “invaluable” for SVP South-West to continue to assist struggling families in Cork and Kerry and will help fund key supports such as food vouchers and hampers, heat, utility costs and education, with families continuing to contact the Society seeking urgent assistance and support for each of these in recent weeks.  

Mr O Flynn continued: “We have always received immense support annual car draw from the people in Cork and Kerry.  

“Even before the war in Ukraine, we predicted a challenging year ahead for 2022, and were conscious that people might not be in a position to donate to us and support the Car Draw as we are acutely aware of the impact high fuel costs and rises in the cost of living has had on people’s income.  

“Despite this, the public supported us in their droves this year and the 2022 Car Draw was a huge success   

“We are eternally grateful to every single person who pledged their support to this year’s car draw.  

“It has been a very difficult year for all charities, but due to the continued generosity of the good people of Cork and Kerry, we have raised a staggering €248,000, and this money will be used during the coming winter months to support many individuals and families facing hardship and need, with all of the money raised in Cork going to support those need in Cork, and all the proceeds raised in Kerry going directly to support families and individuals in Kerry.  

“Once again, I would like to extend a sincere and heartfelt thank you to everyone who donated or bought raffle tickets for our car draw, and also a huge thank you to our sponsors the TOMAR Trust for their continued support,” he concluded.  

Lord Mayor of Cork City, Cllr. Deirdre Forde drew the ticket for the top prize, a brand-new Ford Focus from the Kavanagh family’s TOMAR Trust. She commented: “There could not be the caring Cork we have without organisations like SVP who do such amazing and valuable work to support our citizens when they really need it.” 

The Lord Mayor was joined by Paddy O’Flynn, SVP Regional President and Canon Bertie O’Malley (representing the Bishop of Cork and Ross.  

Director of CAB Motor Group Conor Cavanagh also spoke emotionally about the passing of his father, Dr Tom Cavanagh this past year and the huge sense of loss the family and wider community feel, and also reiterated the TOMAR Trust’s commitment to SVP and announced that they will continue their support for SVP for the coming years. 

Pat Harte, Sales Manager of CAB, drew the prize tickets, as the charity has said it looks forward to giving the keys of the brand-new Ford Focus from TOMAR Trust to the lucky winner in the coming week, Frank Boland from Kinsale.