By Vanessa Cavasinni, editor Australian Hotelier
The Hotels Have Hearts Gala Dinner, raising money for the St Vincent de Paul Society, will be held once again on 10 May at the Hilton in Sydney.
The event has been running since 2001, and was last held in 2014, raising much needed funds for the charity in their efforts to help the homeless and disadvantaged.
Hotels Have Hearts is the brainchild of a group of good-willed publicans looking to give back. Since the event began 15 years ago, it has raised in excess of $3 million. The committee behind Hotels Have Hearts includes hoteliers Kim Maloney, OAM, Patrick Gallagher, John Ryan, Jack Lucas, Martin Short, Stephen Harvey, Danielle Willis and Jenny Farrell, along with Brother Dan Stafford C.Ss.R., Fundraising Ambassador for St Vincent de Paul Society NSW.
Monies raised at previous Hotels Haves Hearts dinners have funded several St Vincent De Paul initiatives, including the Matthew Talbot Hostel home-reach service; the refurbishment of the Activity Centre; and a training kitchen, computer lab and art studio to help people begin their journey back into the community. Funds have also supported the refurbishment of the rooftop recreation and garden space at Vincentian House, a service for women and families.
At the last dinner in 2014, $500,000 was raised, and the aim this year is to beat that sum. Maloney believes that the goal is achievable, thanks to the generosity of hoteliers.
“We’ve always been pleasantly surprised by the amounts we’ve raised,” he said
“There was a study published by the University of Queensland a few years back stating that hoteliers are the most generous group of people. It’s always incumbent for the well-off to help those who are not so well off, and we’re always happy to do our bit helping disadvantaged men, women and their families.”
Around 500 publicans and industry representatives are expected to attend this year’s Hotel have Hearts Gala Dinner. Attendees of special note include New South Wales’ Deputy Premier Troy Grant, former Governor-General Sir William Deane, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Tom Bathurst.
Individual tickets and tables of 10 are now available for purchase here.