Patch Charitable Activities

Background

Prior to retirement I worked for the Department of Finance and my interest in charitable fundraising  coincided with the late Mo Mowlam opening up the Stormont Estate to events  such as concerts.  Permission was sought by my parent division , Business Development Service , to carry out a bucket collection at the first of these concerts i.e. Elton John  and around 40 of  us ( and spouses )  collected £4,500 on behalf of The Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice . 

At all subsequent concerts Aikens ( the promoters ) allowed BDS to carry out further collections and around £30,000 was raised on behalf of Tor Bank School , Lupus Research , Clifton Special School and others.

When the concerts ceased  I personally asked for permission to organize our own event – a Teddy Bear’s Picnic – and this was followed by Stormont Family Fun Days in subsequent years . I am very pleased to say that between 2008 and 2014 more than £ 90,000 was raised for the BBC’s Children in Need Appeal .

Current arrangements at the Patch

Since retirement , and following major development at The Patch in 2013 , I have tried to continue with my charitable work by setting aside a few days each year for individuals or small local charities to use my entire facilities ( free of charge ) to raise funds for themselves . That ” offer ” is still on the table – as the need to fundraise continues to grow – so anyone wishing to explore the possibility of using the Patch to fundraise should contact me directly and I will do everything I can to help. 

I am pleased that to date a number of individuals and local charities ( including Rosie’s Trust and The Cat’s Protection League ) have organized successful events. 

Ronnie McALeese MBE 

Updated July 2021