Blog. Joining the Fundraising team, and events to look forward to

Hi, I’m Kirsty, new Fundraising & Marketing Executive at Hospitality Action.

It is my third week as an official member of the Fundraising team; however, I have been working with Hospitality Action for the past year, across the Fundraising, Grants and EAP teams as the charity has been growing and getting busier. This has given me a unique perspective into how HA works, and how we help to support the people in our industry on a daily basis.

My background is in scientific publishing, administration and events organisation, and I hadn’t had any involvement in the hospitality industry prior to joining HA. I have learned so much about how the industry works and the hard work done every day by amazing, passionate people behind the scenes that the public don’t see when we visit a restaurant or hotel, for instance.

It has also been a real eye-opener for me to see the struggles that people who work in the hospitality industry, or who have previously worked in the industry, go through. Whether it is somebody applying for a grant, or making use of the EAP via their workplace, in my relatively short time at HA I have seen so many stories of people who have fallen on hard times through illness, addiction, trauma or other  difficult circumstances. It has been humbling to see how the work that HA does to provide the support they need – financial, emotional or otherwise – has such a huge impact on their lives, and how grateful they are to the charity for providing the support they are often desperately seeking.

The work that the Fundraising team do is crucial to raise the funds to make all this possible. I’m very excited to have joined the team here at HA, knowing the work that I will be doing will have a tangible benefit to those in need. There are a lot of exciting fundraising events coming up, and I can’t wait to be a part of making those events fun for everyone, and raising money for HA at the same time.

I am very much looking forward to being involved in this year’s Christmas events. The Festive Fundraising Dinner on 26th November with the legendary Raymond Blanc OBE will certainly be a special evening, and a great way to kick off Christmas celebrations. I am also co-ordinating a brand new fundraising campaign running throughout December called Hats Off for HA, where we’re asking hotels and restaurants to donate their cloakroom fees to us – an easy way for businesses to generate awareness, raise money and be in with a chance of winning a prize.

Interested in taking part in Hats Off for HA? Or attending an event? Or perhaps you want to know about other ways you can support HA? Say hello here.