Hotels chip in for the homeless
The Hotels Have Hearts campaign is in full swing again, setting a new fund raising record for the St Vincent De Paul Society’s efforts to help the homeless.
The event saw 500 pub owners and industry honchos gathering at the Sydney Hilton. Guests included former Governor General Sir William Deane, NSW Deputy Premier Troy Grant and Lieutenant Governor of NSW Tom Bathurst.
The bidding on auction items saw them raising a record breaking $600,000 for St Vincent De Paul.
The money raised will pay for St Vincent De Paul initiatives including meals programs, crisis accommodation, family services and refuges for women and children escaping domestic violence. It will also fund one-on-one “wrap around” case management, advice on medical, legal and financial issues, and education and training activities.
The money raised surpassed the $500,000 raised at the last event, in 2014.
Hotels Have Hearts chairman and AHA NSW vice-president Kim Maloney paid tribute to the industry for its support.
“The event seems to be growing each year, and the committee and I work hard to make sure the event is memorable for those who come.,’’ Mr Maloney told Bush Telegraph.
“But at its core, Hotels Have Hearts is about the well-off helping those who are not so well off. It is about giving those in our society who have fallen a hand up, and publicans are always willing to do that.”
Hotels Have Hearts was founded in 2001 by a group of hoteliers. So far, it has raised more than $3.6 million for homeless and disadvantaged people, making it one of the premier hospitality industry fundraising events.
It has also received continuing support from the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) NSW.
President Scott Leach said the event’s success said something about the character of the industry.
“Hotels Have Hearts is a statement that we care, that we are prepared to help, not because we stand to gain through publicity or notoriety, but because the NSW hotel industry believes in a society where those with much will help those with little,” Leach said.
By Leon Gettler, May 12th 2016
