The Annual Caravan Sporting Heroes Luncheon took place on Friday 5th November and raised more than £210,000 – a record haul.
Caravan – the operating name of the National Grocers’ Benevolent Fund – supports current and former employees of the UK grocery industry, including the production, distribution and retail sectors, who need monetary assistance.
Speakers at this year’s Sporting Heroes Luncheon, held at the Hilton on Park Lane, were World Cup winning England rugby Will Greenwood and former World Championship winning snooker player John Parrot. As well as representatives from a plethora of the biggest food manufacturers in the UK, others attendance included darts personality Bobby George, former England and Manchester United footballer Viv Anderson and cricket legend Sir Ian Botham, who was presented with a Caravan Hall of Fame award in recognition of his many years of valuable service to the charity.
The money was raised through ticket sales, a raffle and numerous auction lots.
“It was a fantastic afternoon and the money raised will enable the charity to look after a record number of beneficiaries for another 12 months,” read a Caravan statement. “We would like to extend our thanks to all of our sponsors. Without you, we wouldn’t have been able to raise a record amount of more than £210,000 for the charity, so many thanks to one and all for this fantastic achievement.”