By Dionne Meehan
A LOCAL trucker, renowned for ‘steering’ his efforts towards helping the community, has raised a whopping €76,466 for two local beneficiaries.
When the news broke last year that Raphoe Community Playgroup had to vacate their premises due to defective concrete blocks, St Johnston’s Colin Kilpatrick swooped in with the intention to ‘lighten the load’.
In 2023, the father of four began his fundraising journey by organising a truck run in the wake of the Creeslough tragedy at which he was one of the first on the scene.
Raising a whopping €118,045 for the affected families, he was overwhelmed by the success of the event.
Hoping for the same level of support this time around, the kind-hearted truck driver organised a truck run, charity auction and dance to raise much needed funds for the playgroup and Donegal Hospice.
Announcing the total raised on social media, Colin said he was once again overwhelmed by the incredible support from the local community.
“We are delighted to announce, after a lot of hard work, we finally have a total amount raised and we are blown away by the amount,” the post began.
“Trucking for Donegal has raised €76,466. In the next coming weeks we will hand out the cheques to our chosen charities.
“The main reason we organised the fundraiser was to raise emergency funds for our local playgroup in which the building has been condemned for having defective blocks.
“But, when I was asked to help, I said I wanted to give a percentage to Donegal Hospice as well to help them continue with the amazing work that they do.”
Colin agreed to donate 10 percent of the funds raised to Donegal Hospice and generously rounded the amount up to €8,000.
“The support by the local community again has just blown us away,” Colin continued. “A special thanks to all the hauliers that helped so much and gave so much.
“Anyone that helped in any way, we want to thank you all.”
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