HELPING SICK CHILDREN: Stephen Dennehy (Bar Manager), Stanislav Gnjastovic (Porter), Alex Gogin (Bar Tender), Sinead Butler (Duty Manager), Javier Gonzales (Duty Manager), Catherine Burke (Front Office Manager), some of the staff at The Lake Hotel who raised €5,677 in aid of the Temple Street Children's Hospital. Photo: Don MacMonagle

By Michelle Crean

Taking on a running challenge to get fit is one thing but local hotel workers also put their hands into their pockets for charity – raising almost €6,000.

This week, the team at The Lake Hotel Killarney donated a cheque of €5,677 for Temple Street Children’s Hospital.

The hotel’s employee representative team decided to lace up their running shoes and form a running club to raise funds for this very worthy cause.

The team formed The Lake Running Club and from September took part in a series of running events and invited their colleagues to complete four five kilometre runs through the National Park and in the surrounding areas.

Each participant’s entry fee was donated to the chosen charity. Four Lake Hotel employees also completed the Dingle Marathon.

Stephen Dennehy, chairperson of the employee representative team at The Lake Hotel is already thinking of next year’s fundraising efforts.

“We were delighted to be sending a cheque of this value to Temple Street Children’s Hospital and are very grateful to everyone who supported this fantastic cause,” he said.

“Each year we organise a fundraising event. Last year we completed a sky dive in aid of Kerry Mountain Rescue, this year we formed The Lake Running Club in aid of Temple Street, so we look forward to what next year will bring.”