Tony Gunning Art Shop raises €11,784 for ALONE
Charity pop up shop sells hundreds of paintings to support older people
Dublin, 24th January ALONE, the charity that supports older people, today closed its Tony Gunning art pop-up shop which raised €11,784 for the charity. The store, located on the third floor of Dublin’s Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre, has been open since November.
Dublin artist Tony Gunning donated more than 400 of his original paintings to ALONE, which have been sold with the help of 70 volunteer shop assistants and seven corporate groups.
With support from Lisney, U Store it and Delaney Mini Removals, and space donated by Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre, the pop-up shop operated with minimal overheads, allowing 100% of proceeds to support the charity’s work.
“This is a fantastic example of how communities can come together to support a charitable project,” said ALONE CEO Seán Moynihan. “We are consistently overwhelmed by the generosity of our donors and supporters, but the level of cooperation and support we received from all involved in this project has been astounding.”
Moynihan continued, “We have received wonderful support from Tony Gunning, our volunteers, Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre, Lisney, U Store it, Capita, Slack, Cadence, Delaney Mini Removals and so many other people and organisations, all of whom worked together to help to make this happen. The funds raised from this project will help us to support older people across Ireland.”
The remainder of the paintings will be sold by Irish liquidators Rugs to Rhinos Harold’s Cross, with all funds going to ALONE.
“I am delighted to present the proceeds from the sale of my collection of artwork to ALONE,” said artist Tony Gunning. “I hope that more people will be able to benefit from ALONE’s services as a result.”
Tony Gunning has been working as a professional artist since 2000. During this time, he has welcomed great success and earned appraisal from far afield. In 2007, his work was recognised by fellow artists as he was presented with the Curator’s Award. Gunning’s art, which ranges from small local scenes to large contemporary realism, has also been shown at the European Parliament in Brussels.
About ALONE
ALONE supports older people to age at home. We use individualised care plans to support older people to overcome problems large and small, including loneliness, lack of access to medical services, poverty, homelessness and housing difficulties. ALONE staff provide one point of contact to coordinate services and housing, and assist with reduced hospital admissions and quicker discharges. Our assistive technology provides security and support to age at home. Our volunteers provide friendship and practical help by visiting or telephoning an older person some daily some weekly. Over the past 10 years, ALONE has grown from supporting 200 older people per year to 3,500, and from 45 volunteers to 1,500.