A mother of one who lost her daughter in a crash is celebrating her life by erecting a Christmas tree of hope at Penny Dinners in Cork city collecting gifts for the needy in the process.
Sarah Richardson (19) from Cobh, Co Cork would have celebrated her birthday this Sunday.
Instead of birthday festivities her mother Colette Griffin puts up a tree in her memory at the building where homeless men and women gather every day for their meals.
She encourages the bereaved to print out pictures of their loved ones which are placed in baubles on the tree. They also leave gifts which are allocated to the impoverished in Cork.
Colette says "Sarah's Tree of Hope" is designed to give people who have lost a relative an avenue to express their grief whilst helping the vulnerable at the same time.
She says Christmas is a difficult period and that channelling her grief into collecting gifts for Penny Dinners helps her get through the month of December.
Colette adds that she will forever treasure her Christmas memories with Sarah.
"On the 25 of November our decorations went up for her birthday. We were the only house on the street with Christmas lights and a Santa but it had to happen.
I always remember she was going into first year (in secondary school) and we had to sit her down to say 'There is no such thing as Santa.' She howled and bawled and came into the room and she said 'I suppose you are going to say there is no such thing as the Easter bunny either?" Sarah loved Christmas so much.
Her family no longer put up a Christmas tree at home during the holiday period. Colette volunteers at Penny Dinners as she says helping others in their time of difficulty can provide comfort to the soul.
Meanwhile, Caitriona Twomey who runs Penny Dinners said this year is the first time in the three year history of the tree that they are placing pictures of deceased users of the service in baubles.
She says homelessness is the worst it has ever been in Cork and that organisations such as her own are worried for the future of men and women who present onsite.
"We see some people who come into Penny Dinners and we can see by their faces that we are going to lose them this year. You are looking at them and you are just waiting to hear it. You can see it in their faces. How the harshness of poverty has got to them. How the cold has got to them. There are people who will be gone shortly."
The Christmas gifts of clothing and toys will be distributed across the city. Anyone who would like to make a financial donation to Penny Dinners can do so at https://corkpennydinners.ie/
