Shoreham Vehicle Auctions raised £25,000 for a children’s hospice with its annual benefit event – more than twice the target set.
The independent vehicle auction house had pledged £10,000 to Chestnut Tree House for its 10th such event, calling on the motor trade to help with donations of running cars and vans, as reported by Car Dealer.
Generous dealers rallied to the cause, including Frosts4Cars, Yeomans, and Tates, which all gave cars, plus local independent dealers making pledges on care packages.
It brings Shoreham Vehicle Auctions’ total fundraising efforts for the charity to date to £181,523.
This year’s charity auction was held online and the revamped format saw dealers pledge 60 hours of hydrotherapy, 42 sessions of a multi-sensory experience and 10 hours of care at the hospice.
Catherine Stone, Shoreham Vehicle Auctions’ business development manager, said: ‘This was our 10th year of supporting Chestnut Tree House, and despite extremely challenging circumstances for all, we weren’t about to abandon our goals.
‘We were blown away by the support which has been shown to Chestnut Tree House in its hour of need.
‘We were pleased to be able to put our skills of conducting remote auctions to use at a time when needed the most and truly could not have asked for any more amazing support.
‘Raising £25,000 during such a challenging year really does highlight the generosity and resilience of the automotive trade.
‘We’d like to thank all of our suppliers and those who contributed towards achieving such a significant fundraising total.’
The Arundel-based hospice’s care services cost more than £4.6m a year but it faced a 70 per cent drop in income this year because of the pandemic.
Sarah Colbourne, head of fundraising at Chestnut Tree House, said: ‘On behalf of everyone at Chestnut Tree House, I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone at Shoreham Vehicle Auctions for raising an incredible £25,000.
‘The pandemic has had a huge impact on our funding, as it has done on all charities. Our fundraising income dropped by 70 per cent when we had to close all our shops and all events were postponed or cancelled.
‘Things are starting to improve now, but we still need our community’s support. Without people like SVA and those who supported their efforts, hospice care wouldn’t be possible. Thank you.’
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