Glynn Purnell’s Friday Night Kitchen raises £60,000 for charity

GLYNN Purnell’s Friday Night Kitchen at Villa Park raised £60,000 for local charity Cure Leukaemia.

Some  400 foodies joined ‘Yummy Brummie’ and trustee of Cure Leukaemia Glynn Purnell, and his celebrity friends – Masterchef judge Gregg Wallace, TV personality, chef, singer and actress Rustie Lee, and BBC TV and radio presenter Phil Upton – for a fun-filled Friday.

Guests were treated to a three course meal demonstrated right in front of them by the Michelin-starred chef. The menu included Rustie Lee’s jerk chicken terrine, and a trio of Birmingham inspired puddings.

Glynn said: “GPFNK was even bigger and better this year thanks to Gregg, Rustie and most of all, our fantastic guests. There was such a great buzz in the room, and everyone came together to have fun whilst raising money for Cure Leukaemia, a charity I am immensely proud to support.”

Cure Leukaemia was founded in 2003 to support the world class Centre for Clinical Haematology at The QE Hospital Birmingham. The money raised will go towards supporting the work of Professor Charlie Craddock and his team to fund life-saving clinical trials across the West Midlands.

The £60,000 raised from the evening equates to 600,000 potentially
pioneering life-saving drugs for patients with blood cancer.

Cocktails for charity at Gateley

BIRMINGHAM bar The Botanist uprooted from its home on Temple Street to host a one-off pop-up bar at law firm Gateley.
 
Gateley staff were treated to a selection of The Botanist’s cocktails, as well as beer and wine, with all proceedings going to the Alzheimer’s Society.
 
Emma Burgess, business development manager at The Botanist, said: “We are thrilled to work with Gateley Plc to support such a worthy cause. The cocktails were well received and everyone has helped to raise much-needed funds for the Alzheimer’s Society.”
 
Ruth Armstrong, partner at Gateley Plc and head of the company’s  CSR work nationally, said: “The Alzheimer’s Society was voted our Birmingham office’s charity for this year, so when the opportunity arose to partner with a local business and raise funds, we were excited to do so.”
 
A total of £451.32 was raised.

JLL takes property types for a charity spin

MORE THAN 50 Birmingham property professionals took part in a Classic and Sports Car Reliability Run organised by JLL.
 
Now in its sixth year, the event saw over 50 people join their JLL colleagues, from companies including Baker Tilly, London and Cambridge Properties, Barberry Developments, HSBC and Mace Group.
 
Amongst the fleet of classic and sports cars were a McLaren 650S, a 1937 Riley Lynx Sprite, a Triumph Spitfire, Ford Mustang, two classic Minis and an Austin Healey to name but a few. 

After starting out at Rybrook’s Specialist Cars in Hockley Heath the cars took a leisurely drive through the Worcestershire countryside to The Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb, a motor sport venue that has been hosting Midland Automobile Club (MAC) Speed Hill Climbs since 1905 and attracting world famous drivers through the ages.
 
Once at Shelsley Walsh, the drivers enjoyed a pit stop lunch before embarking on ‘spirited runs’ up the 1,000 yard Hill Climb with a 1:7 rise at its steepest point..
 
Nigel Simkin from the planning and development team of JLL, who organised the day, said: “What started out six years ago as a fun way to raise money for JLL’s chosen charity is now an event that is very much looked forward to year on year.

“Our thanks once again goes out to everybody who took part on the day. The support we have is fantastic and each year gets better and better.

“We’ve managed to raise over £3,000, all of which will go to our charity partner Starlight Children’s Foundation.”

Briggs Equipment donates £20,000 to children’s charity

CANNOCK-based materials handling specialist Briggs Equipment is helping to create special memories for children and young people with life-threatening illnesses by donating £20,000 to Make-A-Wish UK.

Make-A-Wish UK was set up in 1986 and aims to grant a thousand magical wishes each year to children and young people aged between three and 17.

Christine Allingham, corporate account manager at Make-A-Wish UK, said: “We’re very grateful to Briggs Equipment for such a fantastic donation, which will make a real difference.

“Having a wish come true means the world to the children and not only gives families a chance to have fun together, but can also help to bring the children out of their shell.”