On Tuesday the 18th of July, a charity fundraising dinner was held in order to raise money for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire. The event was organised by ‘London Unites’ and the evening was hosted by Michael Sloan from the Novotel in Hammersmith. The event also received an enormous amount of support from the Hotels in West London, a group that is led by Edward Bracken who is the General Manager at the Crowne Plaza in Kensington. As well as this, neighbouring hotels such as the Lancaster London, The Dorsett and Royal Garden Hotel all contributed to the fundraising efforts.
The event managed to raise an amazing 104,000 for the victims of the Grenfell Tower Fire, a horrific incident that saw the entire residential tower ablaze. The London Unites dinner was attended by 500 guests and was run with zero costs due to generous contributions of time and produce. This means that all of the £104,000 that was raised can go straight toward helping the victims of the disaster.
This fundraising event also marked a first for the hospitality industry as it was the first time that all of the food, beverages, staff, AV and entertainment for a charity event were donated for the cause. This is an excellent demonstration of what businesses can do when they rally together in order to help out the victims of such a horrendous event.
Ben Purton, the Executive Head Chef and Director of Food & Beverage at the Lancaster London played a central role in the organisation of the event, There were volunteers from the Sales and Marketing team acting as chefs and waiters for the event as well as kitchen apprentices and Guest Safety staff that usually work at the Lancaster London.
The event offered a three course meal, a silent live auction, music and entertainment. The guests also heard from some of the Survivors of the tragedy, and two tables of Ladbroke Fire Station staff in attendance were given a standing ovation for their bravery and hard work tackling the fire.
