Sarah Howlin, Meeting and Events Sales Manager, at Clayton Hotels in Chiswick hosted a soiree gathering on Friday 7th July to raise £1000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).
The soiree included a raffle and charity auction, with live music, cocktails and free food.
She said, “We wanted to do something to get the whole hotel involved and pull together. We pulled together all the resources that we could. We tried out best and, for GOSH, every penny counts.
The Irish hotel chain, Clayton Hotels, has five hotels in the UK and this year, along with last year, GOSH has been the hotel’s chosen charity of the year. The money raised from the charity events will go towards improving parent accommodation for parents with children in hospital.
The building opposite offers beds to parents that need to be close to their children, or who have travelled a long way to get to GOSH. In addition, this parent’s accommodation becomes the site for assisted living – which trains parents to get used to new living arrangements with their children, including providing treatments or administering medication.
Sarah confirmed, “Last year, we raised £3,000. This year, we want to aim for £5,000. We currently have £1,700. So last Friday, we did a charity walk starting in Kingston and walked the Thames path back to Chiswick. We’ve done staff lunches.
“For us, it’s about the staff engagement as well. We want to get everyone involved from our family. It’s such a good cause – we’re so proud of it.
The event took place in the newly renovated bar, which has been part of a recent £21 million refurbishment to improve beds and meeting rooms, introduce a ballroom and provide socialising spaces.
The event was well attended by staff, friends and family members – one member of staff brought 12 friends. The entertainment included Chris Hare, mind boggler, who delighted audiences with his memory, and Piers Wood-Jenkins, 19, who played the guitar and sang songs.
Piers said, “I want to volunteer with GOSH, but they don’t have space at the moment. I’m a musician doing pub gigs and writing my own music. I accepted the job and am doing it out of my own time, and free of charge – in this way I’m volunteering for GOSH.”
Raffle tickets include £50 bar tab at the globe bar, dinner for two plus wine in the grill restaurant. The charity auction had some high-value celebrity-signed items along with alcohol and smaller gifts for bidding.
Thomas Doyle, General Manager at the Clayton Hotel, bid on a meal for two at the shard and won. He said, “We’ve been raising fund for the last two years. This year, we raised £1,700 in the space of 6 weeks. Events like these are all about getting the team engaged. We draw some inspiration from each other. Each department is doing a different activity and we’re all having fun along the way.
“We wanted to hit £1000 pounds tonight and through the ticket sales, bar sales and auction, it’s a job well done.”
Sarah, organiser of the event, said that she couldn’t have done it without the generosity of the community in Chiswick:
“We are so super thankful for all those that came and joined us today. And really thankful for the team who donated their time, and the suppliers who donated their food and drink. Thankful to everyone!”
Published in The Chiswick Herald
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