Chamber raises £1,000 for charities

Exeter Chamber of Commerce helped nine local charities raise over £1,000 at their Christmas Charity Auction Lunch last week, held at the Mercure Exeter Southgate Hotel.

The auctioneer for the special lunch was Mel Everett, weekend presenter for Devon/Cornwall Heart radio.

Items for auction included a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of the RAMM, in aid of the museum’s development trust, for six people to see some of the reserve collections; and an annual membership for four people at Devon’s Crealy Great Adventure Park to raise money for WESC Foundation. Also up for auction, courtesy of Exeter Chiefs was a signed England 2015 rugby world cup ball in aid of the Exeter Foundation, and a giraffe feeding experience for four people at Paignton Zoo raising money for the Environmental Park.

Emma Milford, fundraising manager for the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), who auctioned a ‘love your eyes’ pamper hamper said: “It was great to take part in the Chamber’s charity auction and we are really pleased with the outcome of the bidding, raising £85 for RNIB. It was nice to come together with other local charities and business people and celebrate Christmas.”

One of the main prizes that showed a lot of interest from members was a ‘money can’t buy’ item from The Donkey Sanctuary. The charity offered an amazing opportunity for two people to have a half a day bespoke donkey experience including an itinerary developed specifically to suit the pair participating including grooming, donkey behaviour training or a 4x4 safari of the local farms near the site in Sidmouth.

Sara Bond, chairman of Exeter Chamber of Commerce said: “The annual Christmas Networking lunch is always great fun and a nice end to the year. It was great to do the charity auction this year and give something back to our charity members. I would like to thank all those that made the event possible. We are delighted to say we raised £1,145.”

The other charities that took part in the Chamber’s December lunch were Age UK, Hospiscare and Headway Devon.