Event industry foundation Meeting Needs raised more than £17,000 on Friday night at the M&IT Awards Gala Dinner when the industry came together to support the charitable work undertaken by Meeting Needs.
More than 700 industry professionals attended the event, now in its 38th year, where top suppliers are recognised for excellence of service and performance as a result of voting by M&IT readers. The venue was the JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane and the event was organised by Northstar Travel Group, leading publishers in the international event sector, including M&IT.
Meeting Needs chair Lene Corgan said: “We are so grateful to Northstar for their wonderful support through this event. This cash will fund a number of our sustainable partnership projects around the world such as the school farm in Tanzania we announced two weeks ago that will feed more than 350 pupils throughout the year.”
The £17,541 was raised via raffle draws and an online auction finishing on the night for a luxury safari holiday in Zimbabwe and Botswana. The prize was donated by Destination Victoria Falls by Talking Stick Global. Other prizes were donated by Barcelo Hotels, Goodtravel Management, CT Groups Conferences & Incentives, Iconic Luxury Hotels, The Hard Rock Hotel Tenerife, Marriott Resort Malta and Alpine Sterlin Malta & Gozo.
The generosity of those in the room was encouraged by a speech from Letty McMaster of Street Children Iringa, an orphanage she founded in Tanzania that Meeting Needs has supported for many years. Letty´s presentation touched the hearts of audience members and tears flowed around the room when she shared how her project is changing lives for young orphans.
Corgan added: “We are grateful to all those who attended and participated in our fund-raising. We make sure your money is spent effectively and carefully and goes a long way to help those in need.”
