Flowers for Hillsborough woman who raised £50,000 for charity

Maura Pringle has been the Christian Aid representative at St Malachy’s Church of Ireland in Hillsborough Parish for almost 40 years where she coordinated fundraising events such as soup lunches, coffee mornings and house-to-house collections.

Maura was presented with a floral bouquet to thank her for volunteering her time to help people living in poverty and crisis in some of the world’s poorest countries.

The presentation was made at St Patrick’s Church in Drumbeg Parish where Christian Aid hosted a reception to celebrate the efforts of around 60 supporters like Maura whose collective efforts during Christian Aid Week - the charity’s flagship fundraising drive - raised more than £360,000 this year.

Although Maura is stepping down as organiser of the annual Christian Aid Week fundraising events at her church, she will continue as coordinator of the weekly ‘coffee and chat’ sessions held at the church.

Each Friday morning between 10am-12noon, Maura and a team of volunteers open up a room in the church hall, offering coffee, tea, biscuits and a space to chat, in exchange for a donation to support the work of Christian Aid.

Maura explained: “I love our ‘coffee and chat’ sessions. We have about 55 regulars who come, although not all at once, and you can see that it means so much to them. We all benefit from the friendship, and Christian Aid benefits from the donations, so it’s a win-win.”

Maura, who worked as a cartographer at Queen’s University until her retirement in 2013, explained why she supports Christian Aid: “I love the charity’s strapline ‘we believe in life before death’.

"By giving to Christian Aid, you know you’re making a difference. When people are hungry or in desperate need, we have to get alongside them and show them God’s love in a practical way.”

Christian Aid Ireland Chief Executive Rosamond Bennett thanked Maura for volunteering her time for almost four decades: “Maura has shown great kindness in giving her time to raise funds to help people living in extreme poverty in some of the world’s poorest countries, and she’s also helping to strengthen the bonds of friendship and community here at home. People like Maura make the world a better place.”