Mirenda puts heart and soul into Autism fundraiser
One of Ireland's rising music stars is planning to host a number of unique fund raising events in Donegal this year to help families with autistic children.
Well-known soul and blues singer, Mirenda Rosenberg, who is enjoying a wave of success following the launch of her first album 'Place Holder' recently, is also the mother of two autistic boys and now has big plans to host a number of events throughout the year to support the good work of the Autism Parent Support Group based in Letterkenny.
Mirenda, who is originally from Washington DC in the United States, now lives in Letterkenny and is starting her fundraising efforts next month.
On August 13th, in a venue to be confirmed in Letterkenny, in conjunction with the Wine Buff shop, she plans to host a fun evening of wine and chocolate tasting followed by a gig with Mirenda and her band.
She says this intimate show promises to be lots of fun and will help lay the foundations for a number of much bigger theatre shows with a full 15 piece band, complete with a brass section and backing singers, later this year.
She explains her ethos is 'charity should begin at home' and she hopes
to raise funds and awareness of autism and the work carried out by the Autism Parent Support Group.
Her boys, 8-year-old Randolph and Michael, 7, are both autistic and attend the Letterkenny Educate Together National school.
Speaking of the importance of the Autism support groups she states: "Nobody knows the resource is here because they don't have any funding, it all depends on what they can raise themselves. They host seminars and family fundays. It can be hard to have a child with severe autism as they don't mix well, so it is lovely to get a whole group of them together and we take them to the movies or to the park and support the parents. Otherwise there is no parental support at all. There is nothing for the emotional support of the families. It is a unique stress, it is a very specific thing and you need to speak to other parents about it who are going through the same specific thing," Mirenda said.
She says her own experience with her two sons who have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has made her determined to focus on a serious fundraising effort to support the group and over the course of the year she hope to be able to raise €10,000 for them and after that she will turn her attention to another charity the following year.
Autism, Mirenda explains in simple terms, is a child's difference in they way they relate and communicate with the world at large including sensory and communication disorders and each families will have different experiences with children presenting different facets of the Autism spectrum.
Her first major "big band" fundraising show will take place in the Abbey Centre in Ballyshannon on September 9.
Tickets for the wine tasting and music evening are available from the Wine Buff and there will be more news on her theatre shows announced shortly.
For more information visit www.mirendarosenberg.com
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Tuesday 07 February 2012
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