City West races towards Kidney Research fundraising challenge

Published by Melanie Hughes for IPB Communications in Housing and also in Communities

Ahead of the 3 Cities Cycle Challenge event, which will see 15 City West staff cycle 350 miles fromLondontoAmsterdamtoBrusselsin aid of Kidney ResearchUK, the housing trust attended an exciting event arranged with Savills to boost funds.

A VIP Chicago performance was hosted by commercial property management consultancy, Savills on 5 July 2012, which saw 100 golden tickets sold to the exclusive event - raising £7,250 for Kidney ResearchUK- theUK’s largest funder dedicated to research into kidney disease.

The ticket included an evening reception at Savills' new offices at Princes Dock, Liverpool, with exclusive performances from celebrity Stefan Booth and some of the cast ofChicago, including Bernie Nolan, who sang popular jazz and blues numbers.

David Wright, Assistant Director of Finance for City West Housing Trust, and event fundraiser for Kidney ResearchUK, said:

‘Myself and colleagues from City West were delighted to support this wonderful event in aid of such an important charity. With over 90 per cent of people on the transplant waiting list, waiting for a kidney, there is a huge shortage of organs available. A transplant or dialysis is not a cure, so Kidney ResearchUKneeds to raise much more funds to help save lives.

He added: ‘This is an issue close to my heart and I’m looking forward to participating in the 3 Cities Cycle Challenge in August with some of my City West colleagues. We will be doing our very best to meet our ambitious target of raising £70,000 for Kidney ResearchUKthrough this event.’

Kieran Rainsford, Director of Savills, who participated in last year’s Cycle Challenge toParis, raising £50,000, said: “We were delighted to host this fantastic event for such a good cause. Kidney Research UK is a great charity but can only fund one in five of all research projects aimed at finding a cure for kidney disease, so need as much support as possible."

For more information on the 3 Cities Cycle Challenge, please visit: http://www.kidneyresearchuk.org/events/detail/cycling/1469/3-cities-cycle-challenge

Kidney ResearchUKis just one of the charities City West supports through it’s GIFT scheme. Get Involved Find Time is a unified approach to coordinating all charitable activities within City West. GIFT has two strands which aim to:

• Provide charitable donations and monthly support for charities nominated.
• Staff Volunteering.

If you have any ideas or projects that City West staff can support in West Salford, email your ideas to GIFT@citywest.org.uk