THE Scottish Licensed Trade Benevolent Society, known as The BEN, hit new fundraising heights last night (Thursday 4 February) as it raised £112,000 at its annual dinner.
Over 1,000 guests from Scotland’s licensed trade industry were at their generous best during the event, at the Glasgow City Hotel, where they enjoyed a programme of fine dining and entertainment from guest speakers, Sandy Strang and Willie Young.
All funds raised at the event go towards the charity’s range of services which help both former and current workers of the licensed trade who are facing difficulties. Whether it’s social, financial or emotional support, The BEN helps anyone who has worked full-time in the Scottish licensed trade for at least three years.
On top of its general support, The BEN also owns the BEN Pitlochry Estate, consisting of 18 bungalows, where it provides accommodation for current and retired members of the industry as well as ‘Respitality’ breaks for carers.
Speaking at the event, Chris Gardner, chief executive of The BEN, said: “It’s been another great event and we’re overwhelmed by the generosity of our guests. We can’t thank them enough for their ongoing support and our gratitude also goes to Sandy and Willie for the fantastic entertainment.
“The annual dinner is our biggest event and has a significant impact on the support and services we provide. It’s very humbling to see the Scottish industry come together for the charity and we’ll be going all out to make next year’s event an even bigger success.”
The BEN’s president, David Morton, added: “The BEN Dinner is always an impressive occasion and I’d like to thank Chris for putting on yet another brilliant evening. A tremendous amount of effort goes into the planning and delivery of such a large event and her commitment is vital to the charity and its services.
“The industry has again come out in force to support The BEN and we look forward to working with our supporters and partners as we move forward in 2016.”
More information on The BEN, its services and memberships can be found at www.bensoc.org.uk.
ENDS
Issued by The BIG Partnership on behalf of The BEN.
For further information, please contact:
Duncan Fisher
E: duncan.fisher@bigpartnership.co.uk
T: 0141 333 9585
Notes to editors:
About The BEN
- The BEN exists to help and care for former and current members of the trade financially and in other ways as much as is practicable.
- The BEN supports people of all ages who have full-time worked in the sector for at least three years.
- The charity supports 130 people each year with discretionary financial support and provides one-off grants to many others for emergency situations.
- The BEN is run by chief executive, Chris Gardner, who is supported by a voluntary board of trustees who bring a wide range of expertise from the licensed trade. David Morton is the current president with Sue Buchanan as vice-president.
Picture caption
David Morton (The BEN president) addressing guests at The BEN dinner 2016.
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