Ireland West Airport staff were delighted this week to present a cheque for €41,395 to the airport’s three staff nominated charities for 2019 – Croí, Hope House and The Jack and Jill Foundation.
Over the course of 2019 a number of events took place with Ireland West Airport employees getting involved to support the three charities.
The most successful fundraiser in 2019 was the annual Portwest 5km Runway Run, which saw over 1,200 people take to the airports runway in March. This year was a particularly memorable year for the Runway run as it was the last time a run took place on the runway before it was resurfaced over the summer. The famous runway, which was built in the early 1980’s, has welcomed over 10 million passengers and this years run was a historic one for those taking part.
The other major fundraiser was the airport’s bumper online charity draw in partnership with our three charities, which took place in August, and offered fantastic prizes such as All Ireland Final tickets, Ireland Rugby tickets and flights to Cologne and Tenerife from Ireland West Airport. There was a fantastic response by the public and the draw raised almost €10,000 for the three charities.
In addition all donations left in the charity boxes in the various locations at the airport by passengers throughout the year contributed to the significant funds raised for the three charities in 2019.
Speaking at the cheque presentation, Joe Gilmore, Managing Director, Ireland West Airport, said 2019 has been a memorable year at the airport.
“We look forward to celebrating record passenger numbers and the completion of a number of facility enhancements and improvements. This year is the fourth year of our charities of the year initiative and we are delighted to be presenting a cheque to the three charities, for a record amount of €41,300, which will make a significant contribution to the great work been done by these charity organisations.
“I am very proud of the continued support and commitment of our own staff in raising significant money for their nominated charities every year and would also like to express our gratitude to our customers, who so generously contributed to the charities through their donations in the charity boxes at the airport. The fantastic work that these charities all undertake really does make such a difference to the people that they support in our community and we look forward to a successful year of fundraising with three new charities in 2020.”
