ADF Dinner raises £70,000 for BEN

Nearly £70,000 was raised for industry charity BEN at this December’s ADF Dinner, it has been announced.

Chief executive Brian Spratt admitted to being “staggered and tremendously gratified” at the total of donations announced at the dinner, which was held at the Metropole Hotel in Birmingham’s NEC complex.

A number of fund raising events through the year belied the effects of the recession, with charity golf, cricket and karting tournaments being particularly successful.

Companies were invited onto the stage to present cheques to BEN – key contributions coming from:

• GMF Motor Factors – £1000
• Jayar – £4010
• Unipart – £9300, plus £10,434 for the Unipart golf day
• ADF – £5100
• UK Batteries – £10,000
• Klarius – £5000
• ECP staff – £3500
• On the night – £6,000

Charles Davis, BEN’s director of fundraising, said: “This total comes as a fantastic surprise to us at the end of a tough year. I’d like to pass on sincere thanks to all our supporters in the trade who allow us to continue providing quality care and support to colleagues in need.”