Institution Of Mechanical Engineers Hold Chairman’s Dinner To Raise Money For Children’s Charity

The North East regional branch of an international engineering society has chosen The Sick Children’s Trust to benefit from its prestigious annual dinner next month.

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), which represents over 115,000 members worldwide, has chosen The Sick Children’s Trust to benefit from its regional annual charity dinner on Friday 12 May at Hardwick Hall Hotel in Sedgefield. The organisers of the event, which celebrates the achievements of its members in the North East, are hoping it will raise over £2,500 for the charity which supports families with seriously ill children in hospital with ‘Home from Home’ accommodation.

The Sick Children’s Trust runs two ‘Homes from Home’ in Newcastle upon Tyne, supporting thousands of families from across the North East when their child is undergoing lifesaving treatment at both the Freeman Hospital and Royal Victoria Infirmary. IMechE North East Chairman Chris Briggs, says:

“We are thrilled to be supporting The Sick Children’s Trust. We always choose a charity active in the region and The Sick Children’s Trust helps so many families who have children in hospital in Newcastle. We hope by choosing them as our benefitting charity, our guests will dig deep to help the charity help even more families with seriously ill children in hospital.”

The dinner is the keynote event in the IMechE’s Regional calendar, and is sponsored once again by British Engines Ltd. Guests who attend can expect a fantastic evening, with guest speaker Kevin Connelly, the celebrated impressionist from TV's 'Dead Ringers' and a four-course dinner with wine. The evening promises to be a great opportunity to network with peers from across the engineering community.

The Sick Children’s Trust runs ten ‘Homes from Home’ across the country supporting, over 4,000 families with seriously ill children in hospital every year. Although ‘Home from Home’ accommodation is provided free to families, it costs the charity £30 to support a family for one night. Caroline O’Doherty, Campaigns and Appeals Manager at The Sick Children’s Trust says:

“We were delighted when Chris told us that we were IMechE’s chosen charity for the annual dinner. The money raised from the event will go a long way towards providing families in the region with a ‘Home from Home’ when their child is undergoing lifesaving treatment in hospital. We’d like to say a huge thank you to IMechE for choosing to support us; thanks to your generosity, we can be there for the increasing number of families who rely on us to keep them together with their sick child..”

Ticket sales for the dinner are now closed but it’s still possible to make a donation to the charity at http://www.sickchildrenstrust.org/Donate/index.html

For more information: Please contact Alexandra Glatman on 0207 337 2213 or email publicity@sickchildrenstrust.org