Trio of hotels recognised for fundraising initiative
THREE family-owned hotels around Loch Lomond have been recognised for their tireless fundraising work after collecting £42,000 between them over the past six years.
The project was carried out as part of the Friends of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs charity initiative OUR park visitor giving scheme.
The Lodge on Loch Lomond Hotel at Luss has raised £18,300 in contributions from visitors, while the nearby Inn on Loch Lomond at Inverbeg has collected £9,700, and the Oak Tree Inn at Balmaha has raised £14,000.
These sums have been collected through opt-in donations by guests staying overnight and restaurant customers, with the funds raised going towards supporting a range of heritage, conservation, access and public safety projects throughout the national park for the benefit of visitors’ and residents’ enjoyment of the park.
Recent projects supported with grants from the Friends of OUR park visitor giving scheme include improvements to paths around the loch, the production of paths leaflets, roll out of public defibrillators, Tom Weir’s rest and viewpoint at Balmaha, and children’s play areas at Balloch and Luss.
There have also been hundreds of disadvantaged youngsters sponsored on activity days out and short breaks in the Park as a result of the scheme.
Friends chairman James Fraser recently presented commendation certificates for display at each hotel to Niall Colquhoun, owner of the Lodge and Inn on Loch Lomond, and Oak Tree Inn proprietor Sandy Fraser, and a smaller version will be included in welcome packs in each hotel’s rooms to make guests aware of how much has been raised and the projects that have been supported.
Mr James Fraser said: ‘ The amounts these hotels have raised as part of the Friends of OUR park visitor giving scheme have been nothing short of remarkable and it simply would not be possible to support so many worthwhile projects in the national park without the commitment of these hoteliers and their staff.
‘We rely heavily on this sort of support from around 100 businesses in and around the national park and they all deserve our sincere thanks, as do their many thousands of visitors who are helping us to make a real difference to make the national park a better place for people and nature with the delivery on many practical projects on the ground working with local communities.’
Mr Colquhoun said: ‘We are only too glad to try to help locally-based projects in the national park which are in need of financial support, and the Friends of OUR park scheme has been an excellent way for us to do this. We wish to thank all customers and guests who have made contributions to our fundraising while we have been part of this great initiative led by the Friends of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs.’
Mr Sandy Fraser added: ‘We are extremely honoured to be recognised by the Friends in this way and only too glad to support their efforts to make a difference in the national park. It would not have been possible to raise these funds without the support of our customers over the years, who have given willingly to ensure that many local projects can be supported. Thanks to every guest and restaurant customer who has donated – you can see from the range of projects supported by the Friends just how important your generosity is.’