MOST 65-year-olds look forward to free travel but Dan O’Donoghue would prefer to jump out of an airplane to raise funds for Kerry Mental Health Association and to show his grandsons that nothing is impossible.
The fundraising parachute jump from 13,000 feet will take place in Edenderry, Co Offaly on Saturday 27th April with the aim of raising over €2500 for Kerry Mental Health Association via www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/breakinggrandad.
Dan, who lives in Tralee and is originally from Valentia Island, made the charitable leap year proposal to do a parachute jump to help fund the cost of rolling out FREE and affordable mental health first aid training in Kerry.
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is the initial help given to someone who is developing a mental health problem, experiencing a worsening of an existing mental health problem or a mental health crisis. The first aid is given until appropriate professional support is received or until the crises resolves.
It costs €2500 to train one MHFA instructor with additional costs to secure the licence from Mental Health First Aid Ireland to deliver courses.
Dan O’Donoghue, a leading trainer in Ireland in the field of Business Development and referral strategies, said “The one thing that really gets to me is young people, especially young people, who are full of anxiety. They are worried about so many things and it shouldn’t be like that. I have a great relationship with my three grandsons Feidhlim (7), Lochlan (4) and Donagh (2) who would love to see me leap out of an airplane. I’d love to show them and their friends that you can do anything you want without worrying about it.
“What Kerry Mental Health Association is doing to roll out free and affordable mental health first aid training in the county is brilliant and a really deserving cause. I’ve had my own experiences of anxiety and stress and truly believe that mental health first aid training is very necessary nowadays. Sadly it shouldn’t be, but that’s the way it is. Seeing the impact social media is having on our young people and adults as well, we need something to counteract that and I think that mental health first aid is a way of doing that.”
Kerry Mental Health Association wants to hear from community or not-for-profit organisations in the county to compile a schedule of mental health first aid courses over the coming months.
The General Manager of Kerry Mental Health Association, John Drummey, said “We are honoured that Dan O’Donoghue has chosen to support our efforts to fund the roll out of free and affordable mental health first aid training in Kerry. Jumping out of a plane is not something that many 65-year-old grandads would do but fair play to Dan for taking the leap. The money he raises will make a huge difference to so many people in Kerry.
“Three FREE mental health first aid courses have already been delivered in MTU Kerry Campus Tralee and the Ross Café Killarney in February 2024 with 30 participants in attendance. We want to do more and train more people to deliver the courses, so this step out of the plane is a step in the right direction.”
Both Dan and John have expressed their gratitude to Corcorans Furniture who will kindly sponsor the advertising campaign to promote the parachute jump and to maximise the fundraising potential.
The Breaking Grandad Parachute Jump from 13,000 feet will take place on Saturday 27th April in Edenderry, Co Offaly.
Go to www.iDonate.ie/fundraiser/breakinggrandad or follow Kerry Mental Health on Instagram, Facebook and X to make a donation.
