New Galgorm charitable partnership helps to tackle homelessness

The partnership was kicked off with a national donor initiative entitled ‘SleepSmart’ which will see a voluntary £1 donation added to each bedroom within the resort.

Galgorm seeks to engage with visitors to the luxury resort and raise awareness of people within the community who will find themselves homeless this winter.

All funds raised by the campaign will go towards assisting the voluntary organisation in its mission to provide invaluable services such as emergency accommodation, advice and community support for people who are homeless or who are at risk of becoming homeless.

In a move that will strengthen the hotel’s support for disadvantaged members of the community, Galgorm staff were also asked to donate a Christmas present to the Ballymena shelter which was delivered by staff during the Christmas week.

Commenting on the partnership General Manager of Galgorm Resort and Spa, Yvonne Moore said: “We are honoured to be supporting the vital work of such a worthwhile charity like Simon Community and everyone at Galgorm is committed to supporting the organisation as our official charity partner.

“At Galgorm we aim to create a ‘home from home’ and, while we provide luxury accommodation, we are all too aware that there are people in our community who don’t have a bed or shelter for the night.

“With the SleepSmart campaign we are also relying on the generosity of our customers to help us make a real difference to the lives of hundreds of people who are homeless this winter.”

Noreen Kennedy, Fundraising Manager, Simon Community Northern Ireland said: “We are indebted to local businesses like Galgorm and the investment they are making in Simon Community NI. With fundraised money from initiatives’ like these, we are able to continue providing life changing services such as our harm reduction service, free phone helpline and rent and deposit bond scheme.

“We are working to strengthen communities and lead the way by addressing homelessness in Northern Ireland. We hope that, if Galgorm’s customers chose to take part in this initiative or others, it will enhance their experience at the hotel and they will be part of working to end homelessness in Northern Ireland.”

Galgorm will implement an integrated programme of creative CSR initiatives throughout 2012 which will draw on the resources within the hotel to generate funds and raise awareness of the Simon Community and the instrumental work which they implement.