Charity begins at Home

At the g Hotel & Spa we are privileged to work with dedicated charities each year to help them raise much needed funds. In 2015 our chosen charities are Croí Galway, NBCRI and Console.

Our staff also support some personal charities that have touched their communities or their families. Alzheimer's Society of Ireland is one of these and we recently held a Tea Day in the g where members of our team (not chefs) baked goodies at home and we then served them with complimentary tea and coffee with a prize raffle and second had book sale - we

raised over €1000 and this will be going directly to the Galway Alzheimer's Society. We also have a charity auction running with a limited edition Philip Treacy hat - all bids should be emailed to competition@theg.ie

In 2012, a report, published by the World Giving Index showed Ireland as one of the most charitable nations in the world. This was based on three measures: giving money, volunteering time and helping a stranger. The research reveals that 79 per cent of Irish people donate money to charity, an increase of 4 per cent on 2011 levels and 51 per cent higher than the global average.

Having taken part in Darkness into Light for PietaHouse Suicide Prevention last weekend, this is still very evident today. At 4am on Saturday, Salthill was a sea of yellow t-shirts with thousands of people joining together to raise much needed awareness of suicide. It was an amazing morning and seeing all of the fantastic photos the world over from Irish people who have held their own Darkness into Light walks made it even more special.

Charity is not always about donating money; time is important too and in today's busy world of instant responses and digitial overload, taking time out to help in your community or help a stranger is also important. Life is precious and it is heartwarming to see our g hotel staff who support so many worthy Irish charities. Thank goodness the old adage of 'Charity begins at home' is alive and well.