In October 2012, Karly will be doing up her laces and pounding the streets of Ireland in the Dublin Marathon. In the lead up to the marathon, Karly is not only training hard, but she is hard at work fundraising. Her efforts will support ChildFund’s work with children in East Timor.

Here’s Karly’s write-up about her Townsville Céilidh to raise funds for ChildFund Australia.

Our Ceilidh was held at the Riverside Gardens Community Centre, a beautiful venue with balconies overlooking the river. We were able to hire the hall for a much reduced cost, because it was a fundraising event. I have a large number of Scottish ex-pats working with me at the moment, and they were keen to hold a Ceilidh to remind them of home. We decided to use the idea to raise money for ChildFund Australia. People were encouraged to get their kilts out and really get the Scottish folk dance feel; we decorated the hall with tartan and hay bales to add authenticity! Traditionally people are expected to bring their own tartan and hay bale, but in Far North QLD we thought this might be difficult…

 We did a lot of advertising, particularly on Facebook but at work as well (I work in a large hospital) to sell tickets and raise awareness.  We used a lot of pictures and simple phrases, like ‘Kilt Up and Ceilidh On’, ‘Keep Calm and Ceilidh On’, ‘I had an Irn Bru in 66 and I don’t go on about it’, etc.  We then used the posters to decorate the hall on the night.

WattleNGum, a local folk music band

Karly - getting ready to run the Dublin Marathon

FEELING INSPIRED?