A total of €7,600 has been raised for four local charities by customers and staff at five Ulster Bank branches.
People in business centres and branches in Tuam, Athenry, the Tuam Road, Fairgreen and Eyre Square raised the money for Galway Hospice, Galway Autism Partnership, Hand in Hand and Tuam Cancer Care.
The bank’s charitable activities this year included a bucket collection for Galway Hospice, which raised €1,600.
As part of its annual fundraising campaign, known as ‘Do Good, Feel Good’, the bank will also donate an additional €1,500 to that charity, bringing the total to €3,100.
Following the bucket collection, staff organised a number of other events and activities for Galway Autism Partnership, Hand in Hand and Tuam Cancer Care, which raised a combined €2,250, with another €2,250 to be donated by Ulster Bank – making the total €4,500.
Those activities included a traditional tea party, complete with sandwiches, cakes and other treats.
Colleagues then grabbed their clubs and hit the greens for a round of crazy golf. Other events included a table quiz in Crowe’s Bar, with prizes generously donated by local businesses, a bucket collection on Eyre Square and an in-branch bake sale for those with a sweet tooth.
Mary Nash, Chief Executive of Galway Hospice said: “Thanks to generous donations from the likes of Ulster Bank, we can provide specialist palliative care to over 1,000 patients and their families living with a life-limiting illness in our Inpatient Unit in Renmore and through our Community Palliative Care across Galway City and County. From the bottom of our hearts, I want to say a massive thank you to everyone for their help and support over the years.”
Maureen Grealish, General Manager at Tuam Cancer Care said: “We are a voluntary organisation that offers psychological, emotional and practical support to people with a cancer diagnosis and their families, so every donation makes a difference.
“I want to thank Ulster Bank for its support, which will help us to ensure that the support services of the Centre continues to meet the cancer related needs of the people of Tuam and the surrounding areas.”
Aisling Colreavy from Galway Autism Partnership said: “We currently support 500 people around Galway city and county, providing support and information for families and autistic people and highlighting the services available locally to them.
“All of our activities are subject to resources – both money and people – so on behalf of our members, I want to thank Ulster Bank for its generous support.”
Jennifer Carpenter, Services Manager at Hand-in-Hand said: “We are delighted to have received this donation from Ulster Bank.
“Hand in Hand provides the families of children with cancer with much-needed practical and emotional support, meaning families find they have more precious time to spend with their children rather than trying to keep on top of household chores.
“As I’m sure you can imagine, this means that every euro we receive goes towards making someone’s life a little less stressful at what is quite possibly the most turbulent time imaginable.”
