2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Cork mother is selling clothes online to to raise funds for daughter's vital surgery
Antoinette Burke, based in Cobh, must raise €300,000 to cover the cost of the surgery needed by her 18-year-old daughter Katie.
Katie has cerebral palsy, a dysplastic hip, twisted femur and retroverted pelvis, and these disabilities have made her life very difficult since she was just four-years-old.
Ms Burke said her daughter is going to the gym four days a week, despite the physical difficulties she faces, to prepare for the procedure she hopes to undergo.
'She goes on her own because she is stubborn and independent and wants to keep the strength up in her legs because the stronger she is, the better she will recover when she eventually has surgery,' Ms Burke said.
'Katie was given a training programme and all. It's great for her.'
Over €30,000 has been raised for Katie to get surgery to date through a fundraiser titled 'Katie's Fight to Keep Walking'.
It has been underway for over two years and the money raised will fund the surgery, flights, and physiotherapy before and after the procedure.
Ms Burke used to sell donated clothes and appliances on Facebook Marketplace to raise money, but that resource has 'dried up' in recent months.
Determined to succeed, she decided to give popular second-hand marketplace Vinted a chance.
'With Vinted, I put up whatever I have for sale and whatever is bought, I just package up and drop them off at the post office, and the package goes directly to their door,' Ms Burke explained.
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'The buyer also pays for the postage, which makes things so much easier,' she said.
Through the 'Katie's Fight' Vinted account, she sells a range of donated clothes and shoes, as well as unsold school uniforms donated by Tesco in Douglas Shopping Centre.
Ms Burke started to sell the stock on Vinted about a month ago, and made more than €1,000 so far.
'There does be days where I could sell 20 items, and then not sell a thing the following day,' she explained.
'It all depends on who is online,' she added.
Ms Burke posts her Vinted account on various notice boards on Facebook to attract visitors to her account.
'It's not just uniforms either, people have donated women's clothes, men's clothes, books and shoes,' Ms Burke said.
Find Katie's GoFundMe here:
Find Katie's Vinted store here:
