Exclusive Hotels raises over £122,000 for charity at South Lodge Hotel

By Sussex Life on December 20th 2011

On Friday 2 December, Exclusive Hotels hosted a spectacular gala dinner at South Lodge Hotel in Horsham, West Sussex as the finale of their 30^th Anniversary celebrations.

 The hotel group launched a campaign back in January to raise £30,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support (celebrating their centenary) as well as up to £30,000 for the hospitality industry charity, Springboard (celebrating their 21^st Anniversary). Friday’s gala dinner was the final event of the year and saw the total raised grow to a phenomenal £112,753, far exceeding the original target.

 The MC for the evening was BBC journalist and newsreader, Michael Buerk and a total of £25,482 was raised on the night via an auction hosted by Jonathan Pratt, a specialist on BBC’s Bargain Hunt, as well as at a silent auction. At the end of the evening, a cheque for £100,900 was presented to Macmillan Area Fundraising Manager Paul Morgan and £51,000 was presented to Springboard CEO Anne Pierce MBE.

 The five course dinner was prepared by 'Exclusive' chefs past, present and future including Tony Tobin (chef proprietor, The Dining Room, Reigate) and Mark Tilling (UK Chocolate Master 2006-2010 and Squires Kitchen), present chefs Lewis Hamblet of South Lodge and Michelin-starred chefs Michael Wignall (Michael Wignall at the Latymer, Pennyhill Park Hotel), Richard Davies (The Bybrook, Manor House Hotel) and Matt Gillan (The Pass, South Lodge Hotel) and the talented students from South Downs College, potential future chefs for the hotel group, who prepared the canapés.

 The core event of the 12 months of fundraising was a sponsored bike ride in July, which started at Fanhams Hall Hotel in Hertfordshire and visited all the hotels and golf clubs along the way. But this was just one event – as the year progressed, more and more events were spontaneously organised by members of staff throughout the Group including a ‘pop-up’ restaurant, cake sales, a 2012 calendar (featuring near naked members of staff!), 5km fun runs and sponsored dog walks.

 CEO of Macmillan Cancer Support Ciaran Devane said, “Macmillan wish to thank all those who have supported or taken part in the various events that have helped achieve the incredible fundraising total in our joint celebration year. £24 pays for a Macmillan Nurse for one hour – £47,758 is needed for one year, £544 will keep a Macmillan Information Centre open for one day, £156 pays for the Cancer Line to operate for one hour and £3,333 is the amount needed to provide a Family Support Worker for one month. So as you can see, this fundraising is truly critical and will make such a difference to so many lives - thank you for your support.”

Anne Pierce MBE, Chief Executive of The Springboard Charity, who took part in the 465 km cycle ride in July, commented, “The funds raised have already helped 20 more underprivileged young people go through a development programme. Thank you!”

Finally, Exclusive Hotels’ Managing Director, Danny Pecorelli said, “The Gala Dinner was a fabulous evening and I would like to personally thank every single member of staff, friends of Exclusive Hotels and our sponsors for their support, enthusiasm and most of all, their sponsorship. The whole experience has been a fantastic journey and I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of spirit – everyone that has touched the campaign in any way, large or small has driven us towards this truly remarkable total – I am so proud of what we have accomplished.”

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