Businesses and individuals from across the county joined Leicester based news agency Pukaar News yesterday evening at the first event of its newly launched fundraising initiative, Curry for Charity, an affiliated scheme of the upcoming Leicester Curry Awards.
The sold out charity dinner, held at the Cultural Quarter’s Chutney Ivy restaurant, raised a total of £1500.00 in support of the Leicestershire Action for Mental Health Project (LAMP), a voluntary organisation that specialise in the provision of mental health advocacy, information and advice services across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
Devised by Pukaar News Managing Editor and founder of the Leicester Curry Awards, Romail Gulzar, Curry for Charity works with a number of restaurants across the county to provide fundraising opportunities for local organisations. Mr Gulzar said: “last nights event was a great start to our Curry for Charity initiative. Through our work on the Leicester Curry Awards, we’ve been out and about meeting restaurant owners across Leicestershire and we realised we had an opportunity to work closely with them to give something back to our communities.”
As well as ticket sales, funds were raised through a charity raffle, with prizes donated from businesses across the city and a special donation from Leicester South Labour MP, Jon Ashworth. The event also played host to a live performance from local singer songwriter, Lydia Unsudimi, winner of Leicester’s Got Talent in both 2013 and 2014.
Also in attendance was Assistant City Mayor Councillor Majula Sood MBE. She said: “I would like to thank Pukaar News for hosting last nights fund raising event for Lamp Mental Health Advocacy Project. The event really helped to highlight the stigma and discrimination faced by many people with mental health concerns and the importance of voluntary organisations like LAMP.”
Money raised will provide much needed funds, helping the charity to continue to meet the increasing demand for mental health services across the county. LAMP CEO, Sue Langley, said: “We are extremely grateful to everyone who attended the event yesterday evening, and to Pukaar News for hosting. We’re finding an increasing demand for quality advocacy services across the city and county so every penny we can raise to help us provide these services is vital.
“The Curry for Charity initiative is a fantastic idea. We have an abundance of wonderful Asian restaurants across Leicester. It’s a big part of our culture and if we can use that to raise money and awareness for local charities, all the better.” Curry for Charity will be hosting a number of fundraising dinners throughout the year, each held at one of its partner restaurants in support of a range of charities in the Leicestershire area.
For more information: http://www.lampadvocacy.co.uk/
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