Fine dining for a good cause

Wed, Aug 16th 2006, 11:00

When a group of 200 people sat down to an enjoyable dining experience recently, not only did they receive a fabulous meal but they also raised over £11,000 for charity.

Oakley Hall near Basingstoke was the venue for the charity dinner organised by house builder Redrow Homes in aid of aid of Naomi House which is a purpose- built children’s hospice that provides a home from home environment for children and young people with life-limiting conditions that mean that they will not live to become adults.

An exceptionally generous raffle featuring an iPod, football tickets and concert tickets for Oakley Hall was held to help raise over £11,300 to help Naomi House continue its much-needed work.

Jill Livingstone, corporate fundraiser for Naomi House, said: “The dinner organised by Redrow Homes was a great success and the evening was thoroughly enjoyed by all. We very much appreciate and value this wonderful support from Redrow Homes. A huge thank you from everyone at Naomi House.”

It currently costs £2.5million a year to run Naomi House. The hospice has been open since 1997 and features a hydrotherapy suite and specialist equipment to allow children and their families to relax and take a break.

Jill added: “With less than 1% of our income coming from the government we rely almost entirely on voluntary support, which is why events such as the charity dinner held by Redrow are so important to us.”

Stuart Rowlands, managing director of Redrow Homes (Southern), said: “We are a Hampshire-based business and will shortly be launching a new venture in Farnborough. Far from being just a house builder, we strive to create new communities and enhance the ones in which we build and supporting local charities is part of this process.

“The charity dinner was a huge success and we were delighted to be able to hand over a substantial cheque to our nominated charity, Naomi House.”

Redrow’s Basingstoke-based Southern operation currently has a number of developments at Arborfield, Bexhill-on-Sea, Bracknell, Crawley, Eastbourne, Thatcham, Horsham and High Wycombe, as well as the new venture of 480 three and four-bedroom townhouses and apartments at Farnborough Road, Farnborough, which is due to launch in November.