The charity raffle taking place during the Excellence In Housewares Awards 2024 has raised over £4500, back to pre-Covid levels of generous giving from guests attending the glittering awards event.
Every single penny from the proceeds will be split equally between The Rainy Day Trust, the housewares sector’s central charity helping those from the home improvement sector, and The Light Fund, the licensing industry’s charity which has raised over two million pounds, funding over 250 projects to help men, women and children.
The raffle excitement was heightened this year with a superb range of prizes. Generous donations came from the venue itself (Royal Lancaster London) who offered an overnight stay its 5 star venue, a generous shopping voucher from BHETA and Exclusively, homeware product ranges from Smeg, DK Household Brands, Find Your Glow and Laura Ashley, a champagne tasting experience personally donated by Rainy Day Trust ceo Bryan Clover, and the ever-popular ‘very posh hamper’ (Fortnum & Mason) generously donated by Le Creuset.
As if those great prizes weren’t enough to get people digging deep, two Star Prizes were this year created by leading firms RKW and Ultimate Products.
Ultimate Products’ ‘Grand In Your Hand’ was an unburdened £1000 for the winner to spend at will, a delightful gift at a time when justifying a frivolous purchase is tough. This was won by an independent purchase of tickets by Margaret Osei-Bonsu, buyer at Harrods who was delighted having said “I never win these sorts of things, I am thrilled!”
RKW’s prize really revved-up the crown as it offered a serious track day experience in an Audi R8 LMS Ultra, including a ride with The Stig, plus an overnight stay for the lucky winner. RKW’s Rob Sutton, a true petrol-head, was only too delighted to help raise funds by offering his time and experience as an accomplished track-racer. This was won by Antony Joseph of Joseph Joseph – on top of a clutch of actual awards trophies that evening – who was thrilled at winning a real ‘money can’t buy’ experience.
Rob Willis, event director (and member of the board of trustees at The Rainy Day Trust) said: “Wow, not only did that get the evening off to a hugely exciting start, but we raised a fantastic sum of money which will be crucial to help lots of people this winter. My personal and professional thanks to each and every firm who donated these great prizes, they made a huge difference. I am counting on you all again next year – let’s make this even bigger!”
