BEN, the automotive industry charity, hosted its annual Ball at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London last week, raising in excess of £256,000. And of course it wouldn’t be a BEN Ball without Lookers participation.
Hosting the Group Table this year were Aftersales Director Gavin Ruddick and Communications Specialist Rebecca Sansome and joining them were some of the worthy finalists from the 'Outstanding Contribution to Charity' Awards; Linda Cameron, Paul Craft, Lee Groves, Louise Purcell and Carolanne Roberts and partners.
Opened by a superb ballroom dancing display from 2008 Strictly Come Dancing winner and actor Tom Chambers, the evening delivered non-stop entertainment. Guests enjoyed a show-stopping performance by the cast of the West End hit Jersey Boys as well as a rousing session by the Band of the Irish Guards – with seasonal Christmas sing-a-long included.
The main event of the night however was the sensational prize auction. Generous donations included a 6 night safari, a Suzuki GSX-R Moto GP Special and even a F1 model made from genuine F1 engine components, which alone raised £6,500. The star prize of the night though was undoubtedly the newly launched Volvo XC90 T8 Inscription, which after a fierce bidding battle, raised a whopping £70,000 for BEN.
David Main, BEN’s CEO, commented: “The BEN Ball is our most important event of the year as it raises vital income for us to continue to support our industry colleagues, enabling us to provide free information, advice and guidance to those who need it.”
Linda Cameron, from Taggarts Glasgow was delighted to have attended and praised the work of the charity: “We had a wonderful time at the Ben Ball Charity Event, great hosting and great company. This marvellous charity does great work supporting the Automotive Industry”.
And more charity winners will be recognised at the upcoming The 2015 Guild of Excellence Awards. There, the overall 'Outstanding Contribution to Charity' award winner will be announced. The event, due to be held in Palma in 2016, is expected to be even bigger and even better than before with 17 Awards across 8 different Divisions. Will we see you there?
