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GM Fundraising will be going ‘Back to Black’ with an Olympic theme, for their next Gala Dinner on 28^th April 2012, at the Holiday Inn, Birmingham. With nearly 50% of tables sold pre launch, those that are looking to go to what is regarded as the industry’s best night out in terms of entertainment, need to book quickly.

While the last few Gala Dinners for GMF have been themed in terms of what to wear, this year the glazing industry’s preferred charity, is going back to ‘black tie and posh frock’, which has proved so successful in other years. However, the evening will take a distinctly Olympic theme, as London 2012 becomes ever closer and the night’s festivities will follow this course.

Black Tie Posh Frock

Like every GMF Gala Dinner, the evening will offer remarkable entertainment, great food in the form of a 4-course dinner, wine, a charity auction and raffle, but above all, the opportunity to support Hope House Children’s Hospices. For the seventh event running, the charity has again held table prices at just £995 for a table of ten and has agreed a fabulous rate at the hotel of £75.00 per room, for two people sharing, inclusive of breakfast and VAT.

Gary Morton, chairman of GM Fundraising, comments: “We’re going back to black, but with an Olympic theme and we promise an evening packed full of entertainment. Like all of our events we want to offer outstanding value, fun and a platform for raising much needed funds for the charity. It’s the perfect opportunity to entertain staff, customers and to bring your partners.”

Tables are running out quickly, so to reserve yours today, please contact Gary Morton on gary@mighton.co.uk or telephone 07831 608882. The GMF Team look forward to seeing you there and supporting GM Fundraising. You can also help us build our Twitter and Facebook following @GMFundraising.

Dave Martin great sand save

This year’s GM Fundraising Golf Day at the Telford Hotel and Golf Resort, was arguably the best yet, with an amazing £9,405.20 raised during the event. As the industry’s preferred charity, it highlighted the continued generosity of the companies and individuals involved. 

There were a number of prizes including leading individuals, Malcolm MacKenzie of Lifestyle Windows and John Hewitt of Glazerite, with the winning team from Mila Hardware. Joint runners up in the team event went to Glazerite Windows and Dekko Window Systems. David Higgs from Promac Group was nearest the pin and Mick Madigan of Quickslide hit the longest drive. 

Once the day’s festivities were completed, there was a little networking at the bar, before the attendees made a quick turnaround for the evening event. GM Fundraising has built an impressive reputation for putting the fun back into fundraising and did not disappoint with an auction, raffle and impressive 3 course dinner.

The Profix Team strike the pose

GM Fundraising will be putting on a further charity event in the near future, in the form of the Gala Dinner and will be looking to pass the £3/4 million pound mark raised for Hope House Children’s Hospices. It’s an event not to be missed and there will be a full announcement coming soon, so follow us on twitter @gmfundraising and help build our following!

Gary Morton, chairman of GM Fundraising commented: “Every year I applaud the industry and yet again we’ve been overwhelmed by the generosity of everyone. More than ever Hope House needs our support, at a time when their income is considerably down. Events like this help re-address the balance and we hope to put on an amazing Gala Dinner in the near future. Thank you once again to all those involved.”

The GMF Team with David Featherstone

I am proud to be part of GM Fundraising, the glazing industry’s charity of choice, and we have just handed over a cheque for £102,880.71 to Hope House Children’s Hospices after yet another action packed year of cycling, golf and some school antics ! 

The main focus of the year was the Rome 2 Home bike ride, a 1,500 mile cycle ride from Rome to Hope House Children’s Hospice in Oswestry. This included the Tour De France’s most feared climb, Mont Ventoux. On average it took riders 2 hours to cycle up the infamous 16.27 mile climb to an elevation of 6,273 feet at the summit, twice the height of England’s highest mountain. “2 hours of hell” as someone explained!

In addition to this latest cycling epic, there was the annual golf day and the Skoolz Out Gala Dinner that provided further, much needed, funds for Hope House Children’s Hospices.

Following a recent visit by the GM Fundraising team, the hospice will be soon opening a new centre which is being specifically built to provide bereavement counselling for both parents and siblings.

GMF chairman, Gary Morton, comments: “We’ve had another amazing year with yet another bike ride, golf day and the gala dinner. The money raised was due almost entirely to the generosity of the window and glass industry, who even in such difficult times, continue to support us. This money will directly support terminally ill children and their families. We want to do so much more for them and carry on the momentum we have built over the last 16 years.”
He continues: ”We’ve got exciting plans for 2011 so watch this space or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or at www.gmfundraising.co.uk ”

Alan Sadler on Mont Ventoux

It is an honour to be part of the GM Fundraising team who completed the epic Rome 2 Home cycling adventure on Saturday 19th June 2010 at Hope House Children’s Hospices, after 9 gruelling days on the road across Europe. For those involved it was arguably the toughest challenge yet for the team as a whole.

Difficult roads, complex navigation issues and 12 hour days were some of the immediate challenges for both riders and crew, but the test of riding up Mont Ventoux, one of the Tour de France’s most feared climbs, was perhaps the highlight for many.

The biggest challenge was to get everyone safely up to the 6,273 foot summit after 26km in the saddle and they all achieved it, followed by a descent to the hotel at speeds in excess of 50mph. Total mileage was 1,507 with a 102 hour riding time and a total of 46,418 feet of climbing during the ride.

Individual stats included an average of 30,851 calories burned per person and an average of 161,682 pedal turns. Given these statistics it would be clear to any sports scientist that each and every rider gave it their all.

Job Done ! With Staff and Children at Hope House

What a fantastic achievement for us all and that includes both riders and support crew, it was far tougher than we anticipated. Now the task is to get the money pledged to us, collected and passed onto the Hospice where it’s most needed.

In conclusion, a massive thank you to everyone who was supported and followed us, your contributions will make a real difference to the children and families at Hope House and that is exactly why we do them. It’s not too late to make a donation to help us reach our £55,000 target, log on to www.justgiving.com/rome-2-home.

Get the full story at the Fabstore News Archive

Alan Sadler