Our most recent fundraising events was:
Castlebar Flag Day 8th September 2018
When Mayo Mountain Rescue was set up, it operated on a very low budget. But as time has moved on, callouts have become increased in recent years and have the costs.
The emphasis on fundraising is becoming more and more important in order to operate this voluntary 999/112 emergency service and maintain our HQ, vehicles, equipment and training generating funds in these challenging times becomes more and more difficult. It costs in the region of €40,000 - €50,000 to run our team every year.
Although we are a 100% Voluntary Charity organisation, we adopt a business style approach to our all our affairs. We account for all our sources of income and expenditure and as a Team; we have personally adopted a policy to have our accounts audited every year. We also ensure we comply with the conditions set out by the Revenue Commissioners, to ensure we retain and comply with our charitable status. We provide Revenue with a copy of our audited accounts every year for their records.
However, The Mayo Mountain Rescue Team are lucky in that we have different groups and organisations who donate towards us on an annual basis. We have walking/running clubs who support us whenever they can by running a fundraiser or by just making a donation. We have also received donations from people who have found themselves in the unfortunate position of requiring our assistance. To all of these people, we say thank you. Thank you for your continued support and backing.
We have four main fundraising events per year, these are:
- The Mayo Mountain Rescue Moonlight in Mayo event.
- Westport Flag Day Collection
- Castlebar Flag Day Collection
- The Mayo Mountain Rescue Table Quiz
In addition, we also have a number of collection boxes placed in stores and businesses around Mayo.
As members of a mountain rescue team we do not receive any payment whatsoever for the services we provide. This is a question we are often asked, and unlike other agencies providing a rescue service, nobody in mountain rescue receives a salary, wages or any other type of payment. In fact, it actually costs us not only in relation to time but also financially to be a member. We pay our own travel and wear and tear costs on our vehicles to and from training and callouts.
