Galway University Hospitals Arts Trust named on shortlist for 2018 GSK Ireland IMPACT Awards

Galway University Hospitals Arts Trust named as part of 2018 GSK Ireland IMPACT Awards shortlist. The GSK IMPACT Awards programme recognises and rewards Ireland’s “unsung healthcare heroes” who make a real difference to health and wellbeing in their locality. Five winners will receive €10,000 funding each, while five runner-up charities receive €2,000 each. The awards, now in their fourth year, are designed to recognise and reward community-based charities who contribute to the improvement of people’s health and wellbeing in Ireland, as well as acknowledge the positive outcomes these charities have on patients and their local community. In addition to the €10,000 prize money, each winning charity also receives a video and photography package to promote their work and services. Each charity undertakes a rigorous application process, and Galway University Hospitals Arts Trust worked through all the stages successfully to qualify on the shortlist of winners.

Galway University Hospitals Arts Trust runs the west of Ireland’s leading Arts and Health programme, bringing live art experiences to the bedsides of patients as well as to visitors and staff as a means of improving the hospital experience for all. Since its founding the charity is committed to establishing effective structures, supports and services to promote the value of arts and health, enhance best practice, and create a stimulating and attractive environment for the benefit of patients, their families, staff and visitors.

Margaret Flannery, Arts Director, Galway University Hospitals Arts Trust said ‘On behalf of the team, board of directors, and the hospital community we serve, we are honoured and delighted to have reached the shortlist stage for the GSK Ireland IMPACT Awards, alongside such worthwhile causes. The process though challenging and rigorous was an opportunity for us to appraise our work under the IMPACT Award criteria of Innovation, Management, Partnership, Achievement, Community focus and Targeting need. Having the merit of our work in a healthcare context recognised by a multinational company is a fantastic achievement for a small charity. We look forward to the announcement of the finalists and thank GSK Ireland for their proactive and socially conscious ethos in the form of the GSK IMPACT Awards’.

The GSK Ireland IMPACT Awards have been running in the UK and USA for nearly 20 years and is in its fourth year in Ireland. Charities are required to undertake a lengthy and strict entry process for the awards, which includes a review and presentation of their financials, governance, services and membership growth over the previous twelve months, allowing judges to understand the worthy service and care they provide along with their commitment to transparency, patient focus, integrity and respect – all values that mirror GSK’s culture.

http://ie.gsk.com/ie/about-us/partnerships/gsk-ireland-impact-awards/

About the Awards:
The GSK Ireland IMPACT Awards recognise and reward community-based charities doing excellent work to improve people’s health and wellbeing in Ireland. This is the fourth year of the GSK Ireland IMPACT Awards, an expansion of the GSK IMPACT Awards in the UK and USA that have been running for over 20 years, focusing solely on health and wellbeing charities in Ireland. The awards are open to registered charities that are working in a health-related field in Ireland and are at least three years old, with a total annual income between €20,000 and €1,000,000. Up to five winning charities will receive €10,000 each in unrestricted funding, while five runner-up charities receive €2,000 each. In addition to the prize money, winning charities also receive a specially commissioned video and photography package to help them promote their work. Applicants are evaluated using six criteria from which the name ‘IMPACT’ derives: Innovation, Management, Partnership, Achievement,
Community focus and Targeting need.

About the organisation:
Galway University Hospitals Arts Trust run the west of Ireland's leading Arts and Health programme as a means of improving the hospital experience for patients, staff and visitors. The arts trust believes access to the arts promotes well-being and enhances the hospital experience for everyone. Galway University Hospitals Arts Trust nurtures the discovery and development of creative potential, encourages new ways of seeing, and stimulates fresh dialogue – making the hospital a place of possibilities. We provide a multi-disciplinary programme of events and activities, including exhibitions, participative workshops, music, theatre and poetry.  GUHAT is a registered Charity (CHY17964).