The hugely popular House of Horrors Halloween event has become the latest event to fall foul of the Covid pandemic.
The Children's Grouplink event has been running for 12 years, and has welcomed over 35,000 visitors during that time.
However, the board of the charity decided, following a risk assessment, that it couldn't be run safely given the current restrictions.
The cancellation means there will be a shortfall in the charity's fundraising of around €25,000. But as CEO of the charity, Brendan Halligan said the event was always about more than money:
"It's a big blow on two fronts, obviously the financial loss to the organisation is significant - the net loss is in the region of €25,000 - the second significant loss is the fact that it is a huge programme in terms of the amount of young people - there's something like 70-100 young people aged from 14-20 who are involved in the build-up to the event for weeks and the week of the event and it's a big blow to them".
Brendan says the event also acts as an important recruitment programme from which many young people become full members of Children’s Group Link.
The organisation has received emergency grant assistance through the Government Covid-19 Stability Fund for the Community and Voluntary, Charity and Social Enterprises, but Brendan says there is still an urgent need to raise funds, especially given the increased demand for its services.
"We've seen a huge increase in the amount of supports that are needed for young people we've done a lot of o1 to 1 supports and interventions, we've done more this year than the last five years combined"
The organisation is asking House of Horrors Supporters who had planned to visit this year or who may have visited previously to give a "Horrible Helping Hand" by donating €4 to help make up for lost revenue.
You can donate by going to https://www.idonate.ie/childrensgrouplink
