UL Student Volunteer Gabriela Mineva

27/04/2021

I am a third year medical student from UL School of Medicine. I am wanting to pursue a career in Paediatrics. I absolutely love working with children and their families. I am passionate about empowering individuals in their own community and creating a positive atmosphere where they feel supported. I am an advocate for child health and safety and I do what I can to contribute to local efforts.

Barnardos Ireland is an amazing non-government and registered charity. They work with vulnerable children and support them at home and at school. Any money raised is used to help children who are living with domestic abuse, parental mental health challenges, neglect, family breakdown and addiction. They drop off colouring books to families and hold online educational sessions for parents on activities to do at home and how to cope with isolation.

In the middle of the pandemic in 2020 they experienced a decrease in their financial support and an increase demand their services. I saw the need to get involved with their fundraising effort and created a Facebook event for the annual “Run a Marathon in a month” challenge and managed to contribute 650e to their cause. This year, 2021, I am running 30 miles (or more) in the month of April and hoping to match my fundraising efforts from last year. I encourage everyone to get involved with an organization they are passionate about. Without volunteers like us they won’t be able to provide vital services to families in need. It is something small that we can do during pandemic times but it has a massive impact on members of our community that need our support!