Member Article

MotorVise calls on auto industry for ‘Xmas Do-nation’ in response to Ben funding crisis

MotorVise has responded to an urgent call by automotive benevolent charity Ben to plug its £1m funding shortfall by launching a festive-themed ‘Xmas Do-nation’ appeal.

The firm is handing over the £1,000 it intended to spend on its now cancelled staff Christmas ‘do’ to Ben - and says if dealerships across the UK follow suit, it would generate a healthy surplus.

Following the launch of the ‘Xmas Do-nation for Ben’, Daksh Gupta, the charity’s vice president and group managing director of Marshall Group Ltd, pledged that the business would donate £10,000.

Fraser Brown, founder and managing director of MotorVise (Automotive), said: “That’s an amazing gesture and a fantastic way to start the ball rolling by supporting a charity that cares for so many people across our industry.

He and sales director Nick Coyle came up with the idea after realising that if the UK’s 4,500 franchised dealerships each donated just £200 of the money set aside for those Christmas parties cancelled due to coronavirus restrictions, it would raise more than £900,000.

If this is matched by non-franchised dealerships, together with other associated automotive businesses, Ben could fill its £1m funding shortfall and generate the extra money necessary to meet a record demand for its services.

Earlier this week, Ben issued an appeal to automotive industry leaders to help address its funding crisis – urging them to advocate on behalf of the charity, encourage colleagues to support it through payroll giving and Ben’s Lucky Lotto and for businesses to simply dig deeper.

Matt Wigginton, the charity’s fundraising director, said its team was working harder than ever to meet demand for its services, following a 50 percent increase in those seeking help since the start of the pandemic.

He added: “I’d like to thank Fraser and everyone at MotorVise for being so quick to respond and to Daksh Gupta for his incredibly generous ‘Do-nation’.”

Daksh Gupta said: “Ben needs our support and I urge everyone within the industry to do the right thing and dig deep.”

Ben, which was forced to cancel a range of fundraising initiatives, including its annual December ball, supports automotive industry people across a wide range of issues, from physical to mental health.

Fraser added: “We are naturally disappointed at not being able to hold a staff party and having already set aside the £1,000 cost, we decided Ben was a deserving destination for that money.

“We’d really like to see, across the whole nation, automotive businesses donate a proportion of the money they would have spent on a Christmas party to our ‘Do-nation’ appeal - because right now this charity and the people in our industry need that support more than ever.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by News Gathering .