Dalata Hotel Group announce 3 year charity partnership with Air Ambulance NI
6th Apr 2022
Dalata Hotel Group, which locally includes the Clayton Hotel Belfast, Maldron Hotel Belfast City, Maldron Hotel Belfast International Airport and Maldron Hotel Derry, will be supporting Air Ambulance NI as the company’s charity partner in Northern Ireland over the next three years.
The partnership is part of the group’s Dalata Digs Deep initiative which sees fundraising activities taking place at all 47 of the company’s hotels across Ireland, the UK and continental Europe. Air Ambulance NI was chosen as its charity partner in Northern Ireland with the Marie Keating Foundation and Leukaemia Care being supported across the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain.
As an employee driven initiative, it was decided through an employee vote that ‘Health and Wellbeing’ would be a core focus for the next fundraising period. Air Ambulance NI was selected by Dalata’s dedicated Charity Committee who looked at specific charities focused on improving lives across the region.
Dalata Hotel Group’s Chief Operating Officer, Des McCann said the company is proud to be continuing its charity work to support Air Ambulance NI in Northern Ireland.
He said: “Great consideration has gone into selecting our new charity partners for the next three years. Our approach is to engage with our teams to understand the issues they care about which then allows Dalata and the charity to build a more meaningful partnership over a three year period. Our teams get to know the organisations for which they are raising the funds really well and it means we can target our energy and resources to where they produce maximum benefit for the charities and their clients.
“All of our charities are focussed on helping to save lives. We know the pandemic has put health care providers under extreme strain, both in Ireland and the UK, therefore it was important to us to select charities which do so much great work in helping to support our health services.”
Claire Oliver McGarry, Group HR Manager at Dalata Hotel Group, said Dalata Digs Deep has grown into a major fundraising driver which has the power to make a significant difference to the charities it supports.
She said: “When we started out, we could never have imagined how engaged our people would become with this initiative and how it would enrich the lives of so many within Dalata, working together for worthy causes.
“Our people really go above and beyond when it comes to supporting fundraising activities, without them Dalata Digs Deep could not have raised the huge sums of money it has to date.
“I want to pay tribute to all of the Dalata staff, and I am excited to see what our next chapter of supporting these three great charities brings.”
Kerry Anderson, Head of Fundraising with Air Ambulance NI said, “We are delighted to be working with Dalata Hotels in NI over the next 3 years. The funds raised will help our helicopter lift off and fly to critically ill and injured patients. On average, the air ambulance service is needed twice a day and the doctor and paramedic on board provide critical interventions that can be the difference between life and death. It really is about bringing the hospital direct to the patient and is only possible with continued support. Thanks to all and we look forward to having fun raising funds to help save lives, brains and limbs.”
Air Ambulance NI operates a helicopter emergency medical service dedicated to responding to serious trauma and medical emergencies in Northern Ireland. Funds raised by Dalata will support any number of costs including helicopter rental, fuel, the airbase, pilots, engineering and maintenance of the aircraft, aviation training or a flight suit for the medics.
Dalata’s fundraising efforts this year will include teams seeking sponsorship as they undertake challenges such as the Belfast City Marathon 2022 in May and a range of activities for Dalata Digs Deep Week in September, a key week for raising charitable donations across all hotels.
For more information on the Dalata Hotel Group visit www.dalatahotelgroup.com
