Cash-ino royale

Wed, Nov 22nd 2006, 11:00

As the latest Bond blockbuster hits the big screens, guests at a charity dinner weren’t shaken but were certainly stirred to raise over £5,000 for a West Midlands’ hospice and national cancer charity.

Lookalikes of infamous Bond villains and the man himself mingled with staff, suppliers and sub-contractors of Redrow Homes (West Midlands), while a suitably glitzy performance by a Shirley Bassey tribute act and a black-tie casino experience all added to the 007 ambience.

The Halesowen-based house builder has already collected in excess of £5,000 from a charity auction and raffle on the night – with money still coming in.

This money will be shared by Compton Hospice, in Wolverhampton, and national charity, Cancer Research UK.

The annual event was held at the Burlington Hotel in Birmingham and Adrian Farr, managing director for Redrow Homes (West Midlands), said: “The Bond theme proved to be fantastic, especially with all the current hype surrounding the new film.  It’s great to be able to raise money for two such worthy causes. The work they do at Compton Hospice and Cancer Research UK is vitally important and we’re delighted to be able to help in this way.
         
“I would like to thank all who attended the evening for their support, without their kindness we would not have been able to make such a sizeable donation. Everyone gave generously, and we have been able to make a contribution that I’m sure will help make a difference.”

Located on the Western outskirts of Wolverhampton, Compton Hospice provides palliative care for patients and their families suffering from cancer and other life-limiting illnesses. The hospice is only able to do this through the hard work of its volunteers and donations from businesses and the public.

Karen Bowyer, corporate fundraiser for the hospice, said: “We want to say a very big thank you to Redrow for once again donating to the hospice. We need to raise £4.9million every year to keep the service running, with current emphasis on expanding our Community Nurse Specialists team, which will allow even more patients to be treated in their own home. Corporate support from companies such as Redrow is invaluable to keeping the hospice running.”

Marie Von Wurzbach, community fundraiser for Cancer Research UK said: “We rely on the generous support of companies such as Redrow. Thanks to their support, in the last year alone we have been able to give £256 million to scientists undertaking vital research.

“We fund world-class research to improve understanding and find out how to prevent, diagnose and treat different kinds of cancer. Ultimately, this donation will save lives and we extend a huge thank you to Redrow for its continued support.”

Redrow regularly raises funds for worthwhile causes and has just retained its business in the Community PerCent standard for the fourth consecutive year, an accolade which only goes to those UK companies that give 1% or more of their annual pre-tax profits to the community by way of donations, gifts in kind and staff volunteering.

From its base in Halesowen, Redrow’s West Midlands subsidiary is creating new communities in Stoke-on-Trent, Edgbaston, Hednesford, Quarry Bank, Oldbury and Streetly.