CABARET DINNER PARTY AND CHARITY AUCTION IN AID OF HELP FOR HEROES
Park Inn Hotel Heathrow
Saturday 5 March 2011

Help for Heroes is a relatively new charity formed by people who have witnessed the courage and determination of our fighting men and women and who have also recognised a serious lack of funding for help for those who have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Such is public support, however, that they have already raised more than £64 million in just three years and the wonderful thing is that for every pound raised,  the whole  amount  goes straight into the charity.  This  is made possible by the vast amount of H4H’s merchandise being sold which covers all administration costs.

During the last couple of years we have all seen the funeral cars passing through Wootton Bassett and we have witnessed the respect accorded to our fallen heroes. What is often not realised, however, is that far more young men and women return from conflict zones very badly injured and in need of substantial assistance to get their lives back in order. In many cases, they have lost limbs or eyesight, or both. In the past, this support has been patchy, to say the least.

Help  for Heroes supports an individual assessment programme (Individual Recovery Plan) for each injured soldier and four Personal Recovery Centres are close to completion at a cost of £20 million, funded by Help for Heroes. The Army operates these as part of their Army Recovery Programme but they are open to injured personnel from all of the Services. Help for Heroes has pledged a further £20 million to speed up the Recovery Pathway Programme which ensures that whatever help an individual requires,  it is provided speedily and in a sympathetic environment.

We want to help, and we are  organising a Cabaret Dinner and Celebrity Auction to be held in March 2011,  for 500 people with the aim of raising more than £20,000 to support their work. The success of such occasions depends largely on securing sponsorship  from a wide range of businesses and celebrities alike and we would like to  invite you to join us  by way of contributing anything that we may be able to use in either  our charity auction or our grand raffle.

I recently had the pleasure in attending  the BBC-televised H4H’s Concert at Twickenham and was greatly moved  by the resilience of our wounded men and women who were able to attend, some had lost their eyesight, some had lost a leg, some an arm, some both legs and an arm, but every one of them wore a huge smile.  I have made arrangements with the charity for a number of the injured and their families  to be included in our fund raising night in order that they can meet those  attending and to share their sad experiences.

This event will be widely covered by the media  and of course appropriate acknowledgement and publicity will be accorded to your contribution.

More information about Help For Heroes is available on their website   www.helpforheroes.org.uk/.