Leicester-based engineering firm Nylacast raised £3,000 by recently holding a charity auction in aid of local charity Leicestershire Cares and their Toys on the Table Campaign.
The evening of Friday the 1st of August saw a number of Nylacast employees, friends and family arrive at Devonshire Place, the kindly donated venue for the charity evening, centrally located in Leicester. Guests at the event were treated to a traditional fish and chip supper in order to replenish their energy in preparation of an evening full of intense bidding for popular items.
The Auction was held in support of local charity Leicestershire Cares who Nylacast have supported in various ways, contributing to a number of community and charity projects over the last two years such as; Collect4Christmas, Coat Drive, Employability Project, Mock interviews in schools and Flying Fish tours to name just a few. Last year the engineering firm successfully raised donations to purchase over 3 pallets of items for the Collect 4 Christmas campaign which included essential items from bedding to kitchenware to help make houses homes for struggling members of local the local community.
Building on the success of this Stewart Smith, CNC milling Supervisor at Nylacast generated the idea of holding a dedicated charity evening, he commented, “Having donated a lot of time, money and effort last year, we wanted to do something bigger and bolder for 2014. I would like to thank everybody who contributed to the event enabling people to have a fun evening and help a worthy cause at the same time.”
With all of the auction items being donated by Nylacast staff, customers and local businesses, the auction which held a local focus, included oil paintings from local artists to signed Leicester Tigers shirts and balls and autographed CDs from X Factor winner Sam Bailey; with all items contributing to a total of £3,000 being raised on the night. This event organised by Nylacast focused upon raising money for the 2014 Toys on the Table project which concentrates on providing less fortunate children from all cultures and backgrounds in the local Leicestershire area to receive new toys and gifts in the holiday season who might otherwise not receive anything.
Junaid Makda, Marketing Manager commented, “Keen to support the ideas of our staff along with contributing to our local community, Nylacast are delighted to have held this charity event which is a result of Leicestershire people and businesses gelling together to support a nearby cause. Our operations as a company may extend globally, but our roots certainly remain local.”
26,565 or 35.3% of children and young people between 0-19 years living in Leicester currently live within the official definition of child poverty. Many more families experience low income and the challenges that this brings. These children and young people are at risk of poor outcomes, reduced life chances and life expectancies. The poorest outcomes for children and young people are correlated with persistent poverty.(Leicester City’s Child Poverty Commission).