Institution of Mechanical Engineers chairman’s dinner raises over £5,000 for the sick children’s trust

The North East regional branch of The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) has raised an outstanding £5,050 for The Sick Children’s Trust from its annual Chairman’s dinner held earlier this month.

IMechE North East Chairman Chris Briggs chose The Sick Children’s Trust as the chosen charity for the event and hoped to raise £2,500 for the charity which supports families with children undergoing lifesaving treatment. However, following generous donations from attendees, a superb raffle and auction the evening doubled the initial fundraising target, raising over £5,000.

The Sick Children’s Trust runs ten ‘Homes from Homes’ across the country supporting families with seriously ill children in hospital. Two of its ‘Homes from Home’ are located in Newcastle upon Tyne at the Royal Victoria Infirmary and Freeman Hospital. The money raised from the North East IMechE dinner will go towards running both ‘Homes from Home’ in the North East. Chris Briggs says:

“We’d like to say a huge thank you to our sponsors, British Engines, and all our guests for making the event at Hardwick Hall such a huge success. Because of everyone’s support, we were able to raise more than double our target for The Sick Children’s Trust, a charity that helps so many families going through the most traumatic times. We hope the money raised will help The Sick Children’s Trust continue its great work and reach out to more families who needs its support.”

The Sick Children’s Trust supports over 4,000 families with seriously ill children in hospital every year. Caroline O’Doherty, Campaigns and Appeals Manager at The Sick Children’s Trust says:

“We’re absolutely delighted with the tremendous amount raised. The guests were so generous with their donations and we simply can’t thank Chris and the rest of the IMechE members enough for choosing The Sick Children’s Trust as the benefiting charity of the dinner.

“Thanks to everyone’s generosity, we can be there for the increasing number of families from the North East and beyond who rely on us to keep them together with their sick child.”

For more information about The Sick Children’s Trust, please visit: www.sickchildrenstrust.org