Boost for Acorns Children's Hospice with £10k donation from Birmingham Publicity Association
Acorns Children's Hospice has received a boost after a £10,000 donation from a media, advertising and creative industries group.
Birmingham Publicity Association revealed the cash sum at its annual ball held earlier in December..
Britain’s Got Talent’s Barbara Nice was on hand to hand over the cheque with Dominic Stanford from Acorns and BPA chairman Mark McDonagh.
The group raised £10,000 for the charity in 2019 through a number of networking events.
The first year of the partnership has been hailed a success and money will be going straight to the charity.
The charity’s Walsall-based hospice is currently at the centre of a £2 million fundraising appeal to save it from closure.
A Save Acorns Black Country Hospice Appeal was launched in July as the proposed closure of the hospice was put on hold following pledges of additional NHS support.
BPA chair Mark McDonagh said they had been proud to be able to support the charity at such an hour of need, and that they were determined to smash this target again in the second year of the partnership.
“To be able to present the money directly to the charity at our famous Christmas event was the highlight of our year, and we were so proud to be able to help in our own way with a charity which helps so many children within the Midlands,” he said.
“When we began our partnership with Acorns Children’s Hospice at the beginning of this year, we didn’t realise that they were looking to have to close one of their hospice sites, but when the news was announced this galvanised our determination to raise as much as we could through our events throughout the year, and this honestly has made our year.”
Over 200 guests attended the event, held at Birmingham’s Park Regis at the beginning of this month, and they enjoyed music and entertainment, including a special guest of Britain’s Got Talent’s Barbara Nice who was able to hold the annual raffle and raise even more funds for the hospice.
The event, which was sponsored for the seventh year running by Elonex and for the first time by Reach PLC and Culture Recruitment, attracted people from creative agencies, designers, media, marketeers and freelancers.
Dom Stanford, Partnership Fundraising Officer at Acorns, said: “We’re extremely grateful to BPA for getting behind Acorns. Their fundraising efforts have been brilliant throughout 2019 and this fantastic donation tops what has been a great year for our partnership.
The BPA supports the media and creative industries in the region, while raising money for key charities that its members wish to support. Its members include global organisations to sole traders, graduate trainees right up to CEOs and MDs, media owners and agencies, advertising and marketing agencies, digital agencies, PR agencies and freelancers.
For more details, visit www.thisistheBPA.co.uk
