MS Readathon has been hit hard by the pandemic

MS IRELAND IS concerned about its flagship event, the MS Readathon.

For more than 30 years, he has encouraged children to read as many books as they can during the month of November, and has won the sponsorship of family and friends to do so.

The initiatives are widespread in primary schools and the amounts raised are donated to MS Ireland.

Traditionally, this and its Christmas appeal are its biggest source of donations; the Readathon represented 60% of their total revenue raised last year.

But subscriptions are down. Last year 450 schools participated in the MS Readathon, while this year, when teachers and schools are under more pressure than usual, only 190 schools have signed up so far.

The Covid-19 pandemic has posed a serious challenge for MS Ireland, as it has for many charities that rely heavily on fundraising events. A ban or restriction on large gatherings has meant hugely popular events like Darkness Into Light are canceled or replaced with an online version.

“We’re already down 38% from last year,” says MS Ireland CEO Ava Battles, adding that their biggest fundraising drives, the Readathon and the Christmas appeal, are at the end of the year.

Fundraising at church doors and at the bottom of the box in stores is also a “significant” method of fundraising for MS Ireland, says Battles, but adds that none of these can return even after the pandemic. .

In total, they expect to drop 1 million euros compared to last year.

Due to similar challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, big changes have been made to MS Readathon: for example, adults can now participate for the first time in Readathon history, and fundraising has moved from paper to online.

Previously, there were concerns that MS Readathon was too heavy on paper. About 45,000 sponsorship packages are sent to schools each year, but teachers and parents had expressed concern about the various pieces in the sponsorship package.

So instead, the physical sponsorship sheets are gone and the entire fundraising operation has moved online, where people, a class, or a school can sign up.

This was something MS Ireland had been looking at anyway, Ava Battles said. TheJournal.ie, due to environmental and cost concerns.

We know that teachers’ priorities are different this year, we know that schools are focusing on implementing new safety measures and procedures.

It will take a little getting used to and a little time for them to find their rhythm. However, we have yet to find a teacher who doesn’t want to inspire more reading, but we know how busy they are.

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