By Dionne Meehan
THE tight-knit community of Newtowncunningham has raised almost €45,000 for the families whose homes were gutted following a lightning strike in the village in January.
Three houses, situated half a metre apart, were damaged when a bolt of lightning struck during Storm Isha.
At the time, Cllr Paul Canning urged the community to help those that were eriously impacted, calling for as many volunteers and ideas as possible to help the three families involved.
Organising a meeting in Trinity Hall, Cllr Canning set up a hugely successful fundraising campaign to help those affected.
From internal damage to extensive fire damage, the affected families were left devastated.
As lightning struck, plugs and sockets blew out while a TV was blown off a wall in one elderly woman’s home.
And as for the other families involved, fires broke out immediately after their homes were struck.
One of the houses is owned by a family with three children whose home was left uninhabitable.
This week Cllr Canning announced that €44,917.93 was raised and divided out to those affected.
From coffee mornings to tractor runs, concerts to car washes, in total 21 fundraising events were organised over the past six months in the community.
Cllr Canning expressed his gratitude to everyone who helped, donated and supported this cause.
“I want to thank the committee that put in a great effort,” he concluded.
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