We’ve seen various people come up with different ways to raise money and show their appreciation to the NHS for their work during this coronavirus pandemic.
For Belfast Giants forward Ciaran Long, he’s doing his bit when he and some ice hockey chums will undergo a 12-hour gaming marathon this Thursday, between 8am and 8pm, to raise money for the health service.
For the 29-year-old, who is seeing out the Covid-19 lockdown with his girlfriend in Portadown, just outside Belfast, it’s also a chance to catch up with his brother.
“I’d always talked about going into streaming and never really did it,” he explained how the plan all began. “When I did get around to setting one up, I found it was quite easy. Much easier than I thought so when this pandemic began, I started to think of something I could do that was good.
“Then I hit on a 12-hour charity gaming sessions and read about them before so I wanted to try one to try and raise money for the NHS and showing appreciation for the amazing work they’re doing right now.
“It’s a lot of fun and it’s keeping me occupied at the moment, plus I haven’t been able to see much of my brother so it means we can hang out together in a different way, which will be good.”
Fundraising can come in all different forms and lots of people, ranging from a man reaching 100 years old this week walking in his garden, have been doing their bit to raise a money during this unprecedented period of time.
Long and his “battalion” are ready for action on Thursday (PHOTO: Ciaran Long)
For Long, he was keen to do something that he enjoys that mixes spending time with his brother and his ice hockey friends and revealed one person for whom this means something to him.
He added: “My auntie is a former doctor and used to work for the NHS, but she teaches doctors and nurses now.
“She’s always been great around the family, especially when my dad had cancer so she was always helping us at that time.
“It’s going to be a long day, but I can’t wait to do it and I can’t wait to see who’s going to be out there joining in and playing a part.
“I haven’t got as far to think about toilet breaks and snack breaks. It’s going to be tough enough playing for a couple of hours, but there will be times where I can sneak off when I die in the game and what not.”
Ciaran and Shannon will be joined by the following ice hockey players during their marathon:
8am – 10.30am: Owen Griffiths and Mac Howlett
10.30am – 12.30pm: Liam Kirk and Josh Waller
12.30pm – 3.00pm: Liam Stewart and David Clements
3.00pm – 5.30pm: Declan Balmer and Jordan Cownie
5.30pm – 8.00pm: Ryan Lowney and Shane Owen
Anyone wishing to donate can access Ciaran’s JustGiving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ciaranlong
Anyone wishing to watch Ciaran, Shannon and the rest of the guys in action can click on this feed: https://twitch.tv/stringers89
