Pledges worth some half a million pounds have been made to automotive charity Ben after it revealed a 50 per cent rise in demand for its services against a £1m income drop.
The organisation issued an urgent plea for help, as reported by Car Dealer, and the industry has well and truly answered the rallying cry.
Companies and organisations including TrustFord, the IGA, Auto Trader, Motorvise, Marshall Motor Group, Arnold Clark, CDK, MC Group Ltd, Hills Ford and Chorley Motor Group have responded to its call, it said.
Support has come in various forms, such as donating Christmas party funds, ‘Charity of the Month’ schemes, plus donations linked to survey responses or sales/profit.
Ben is also launching Do It 4 Ben in response to the shortfall so that anyone in the industry can get involved to help with its work.
As part of the initiative, the charity will be announcing a virtual challenge event in January as well as starting a new lotto.
Matt Wigginton, fundraising director at Ben, said: ‘We’ve been overwhelmed with the support from our industry so far in response to our urgent rallying cry – you’re all amazing!
‘Every donation and offer of support makes a huge difference to people’s lives.
‘From all at Ben and from those we support, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to those who have pledged their support.
‘No-one in our industry should face difficulty alone. The issues automotive people are facing now are more urgent than ever before.
‘Our support teams are at breaking point and we can’t meet everyone’s needs without this help.’
Anyone wanting to show their support for Ben can email it via [email protected] or phone 01344 298135.
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