Moving stories of life-limited children and their families are at the heart of a Newport business networking group’s fundraising efforts.
The Action Business Club, which meets every Thursday in Rogerstone, has chosen Ty Hafan children’s hospice as its charity of the year. The group invited senior fundraising executive Kelly Dibble to one of its meetings in the Tiny Rebel Brewery to find out more about the organisation’s work and to make a donation of £250 from club funds.
In addition, more than £1,500 was raised for Ty Hafan by ABC chair Wayne Evans, member Rebecca Lees and four teammates who undertook the charity’s Welsh 3 Peaks Challenge in June. The team scaled north, mid and south Wales’ highest mountains, Snowdon, Cadair Idris and Pen y Fan, setting out along the Miners’ Track at 4.10am and reaching the summit of Pen y Fan 15 hours later.
As the guest speaker at a recent breakfast meeting, Kelly gave a moving and informative presentation about Ty Hafan’s work and the families it helps. Kelly said: ‘It was an absolute pleasure to present at the ABC meeting and meet a great bunch of enthusiastic, fun and proactive business people in a welcoming environment.
“The support of Tŷ Hafan has been fantastic and Wayne and Rebecca should be proud of their efforts taking on the Welsh 3 Peaks – thank you! It’s not an easy challenge, but hopefully they understand that their fundraising will enable us to provide comfort, care and support to life-limited children and their families right here in Wales.”
Wayne added: “Ty Hafan is very close to my heart and was my first choice charity when I became ABC’s chair earlier this year. The organisation does tremendous work for children and families in Wales, but needs to raise more than £4m every year.
“We were delighted to be able to contribute towards its fundraising and I would like to thank all our members who also generously donated to our Welsh 3 Peaks Challenge. It was a fantastic day – despite a brutal start in mist and heavy rain! – and the support from every Ty Hafan marshal at each checkpoint was second to none.”
The Action Business Club is going through an exciting redevelopment, recently moving to its new location at Tiny Rebel and shortly to unveil a new name and brand. It has more than 30 members from a wide range of industries, with those who join able to choose from full membership and the opportunity to attend weekly, or associate membership, attending once a month.
