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The Linen Guild

The Linen Guild is a discretionary charity founded in 1912 which provides emergency assistance to mothers and babies in real need who attend The National Maternity Hospital.

It is a 100 % voluntary charity organisation. All members are volunteers who give willingly of their time and share our common objective of wanting to help mothers and new born babies in difficult circumstances at a vulnerable time.

We are self funding through donations and a variety of fund raising initiatives during the calendar year. 100% of all the money raised go directly to help mothers and babies who need emergency financial and practical support.

Mission

The Linen Guild's mission is to support vulnerable mothers and babies attending the NMH at a time when they are facing very difficult circumstances and have no where else to turn.

“Welcoming a new baby in to the world is a joyous and happy occasion". However, for some mothers, who are under severe financial stress or who have the added challenge of a critically ill infant, it can be a worrying and anxious time. It is our objective to provide practical and financial support to this vulnerable group when they have no other option of support available to them.

In this regard we work closely with the social work department in The National Maternity Hospital. This ensures that our contributions and assistance is used for its intended purpose.

As a charity, we aim to comply with the Statement of Guiding Principles for Fundraising:

  • Our pledge is to treat all our donors with respect, honesty and openness.
  • We commit to being accountable and transparent so that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in The Linen Guild.
  • We promise we will effectively apply your donations for their intended purposes.

 

History

The Linen Guild was founded in 1912 to help mothers and babies in extreme poverty in Dublin.

The ladies of the Linen Guild devoted their time and efforts so that no baby would leave the hospital without a suitable nightdress, woollen jacket, nappies and a warm Foxford blanket.

To complete this task, the ladies of the Linen Guild would meet once a month in the hospital with the matron, a lady president, the secretary and treasurer.

A sewing room was made available in the hospital each Friday afternoon where volunteers could sew, cut out and make up these garments. Those who could not attend would cut out garments to make up at home.

The Linen Guild continued in this way through the years with some members dedicating as much as 30 years to the service.

However some significant changes have come about in the Linen Guild since the appointment of professional social workers to the hospital.

The modern day Linen Guild now devotes its resources towards raising much needed funds. The committee meet on a monthly basis with the Social Work Department of The National Maternity Hospital to distribute funds to women in need of financial and material assistance. The funds are raised throughout the year by a variety of organised events and much needed donations from members of the public.

Events

We organise and host a variety of events to raise the funds needed, some of which include:

✦ Coffee Mornings

✦ Annual Raffles

✦ The Linen Guild Charity Lunch

✦ Other Events

Money is also raised through a variety of other sponsored events such as Bridge Mornings, Tennis and Golf tournaments, Movie Premieres and sponsored runs.

If you would like to host or sponsor and event in aid of the Linen Guild we would be delighted to assist you in any way.

Your support is greatly appreciated.

Contact

For more information, or to donate to the Linen Guild please contact us:

Address:
The Linen Guild,
c/o The Director of Midwifery & Nursing,
The National Maternity Hospital,
Holles Street,
Dublin 2.

Tel: (01) 637 3116 (The Director of Midwifery & Nursing)

E-mail: thelinenguild@gmail.com