Charities pocket house builder’s donation

Tue, Jan 9th 2007, 11:00

Snooker star and TV personality John Virgo presided over a sports themed evening that gave three charities a big break worth £10,000.

The Redrow Homes (Midlands) annual sportsman’s dinner is always one of the house builder’s main events, and this year’s dinner, held at the Hilton in Coventry was no exception, as staff, suppliers and sub-contractors dug deep in aid of the NET patient foundation, Acorns Children’s Hospice and Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

The NET patient foundation was specially chosen as it is a support group for those with neuroendocrine cancer – the disease that claimed the life of three-time Masters snooker champion Paul Hunter. The foundation received a donation of £2,000.

Andrew Geach, who co-founded the NET patient foundation 18 months ago, having been diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour himself, said: “Because neuroendocrine cancer is such a rare condition, it is very difficult for those diagnosed with the disease to get information and talk to fellow patients. The foundation provides both information about the disease and a way for patients to share their experiences and give each other support.

“Redrow’s donation will be put towards a vital new central information resource we are currently building which will be named after Paul Hunter.”
          
Also benefiting from the donation is Birmingham Children’s Hospital, to which Redrow has donated £3,000 worth of toys.

As the lead provider of children’s health services in Birmingham, more than 140,000 children use the hospital’s services each year.

Malcolm Faulkner, fundraising officer for Birmingham Children’s Hospital NHS Trust said: “The toys will make a real difference in brightening up the lives of the children being treated in the hospital.

“We would like to extend a huge thank you to Redrow for their kind donation.”

Finally, £5,000 was given to the Acorns Children’s Hospice. The hospice currently provides services for more than 500 families across Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and the West Midlands, as well as parts of Staffordshire and Shropshire.

As well as accommodating life-limited children in hospice beds, the charity also provides advice and support in the community as well as after-care for bereaved loved ones.

Robert Jinks, regional fundraiser for the hospice said: “On behalf of everyone at Acorns I would like to say thank you so much to Redrow for their incredible donation.

“We have three hospices in Walsall, Selly Oak and Worcester and sadly each currently has only six out of 10 beds open. Redrow’s donation will help us on our way to re-opening the other beds and keeping them open.”

Support for charities and community initiatives across the UK has helped Redrow nationally to retain its Business in the Community (BITC) Percent Standard for four consecutive years. This voluntary benchmark recognises companies that give at least one percent of their pr-tax profits back to the community in donations, sponsorship, employee time or gifts in kind.
          
Tamworth-based Redrow Homes (Midlands) is currently building brand new homes in and around Birmingham, Cheddleton near Leek, Lichfield, Hilton, Rugby and Solihull.