Michael Craig
Fundraising Manager

It's very difficult to keep asking the public for money.  So, why do we need to fundraise?

Firstly, we wouldn't exist at all if our Founders hadn't decided that the people of Galway deserved to have hospice services, and were prepared to do the slogging to raise the money to make these services happen.  We wouldn't exist at all if the people of Galway had not responded so generously to that fundraising, and continue to do so with such extraordinary consistency.  To this day, the State only provides about 70% of what it costs to provide these  services. While there is no charge to patient or family for any of the services provided by the Hospice, there is a cost in providing those services.

So, each and every year, we must raise the balance of those funds (30%), which now amount to €1.8 million.  This enables us to continue providing our Home Care, Day Care and Bereavement Support services, which from the very outset have not been funded by the State.  If we stop fundraising, these services will stop too.  It's as simple as that.

We don't enjoy asking for money, but we do so without apology, because we know how important these services are for the people who need them.  Some day, someone you know may need hospice services.  Others need them today. So, we shake the buckets to make sure there is a service today for those "others" who need them, because - some day - we ourselves could be counted among those "others".

It was through fundraising alone that the Galway Hospice building, located at Renmore, Galway, was built.  This building houses the specialist Inpatient Unit, the Day Care Centre, the base for Home Care services, and the administrative offices for the services.  It is through fundraising alone that we have been able to build a new entrance from the Dublin Road and provide six additional inpatient beds with enhanced patient and family facilities.  It is through fundraising alone that we have been able to plan for the future relocation of Galway Hospice services to a greenfield site, where we plan to build a much larger facility which will be capable of meeting the demand for hospice services long into the future.