Manchester Hoteliers’ Association has donated almost £140,000 to Hospitality Action from its annual ball over seven years.
The sums raised led to Hospitality Action spending £85,000 in the North West in 2017, resulting in people like waitress Vikki Taylor receiving much needed support.
Vikki left her role in a busy restaurant in Manchester, where she’d worked for two decades, to care for her mum who was dying of cancer.
Shortly after Vikki’s mum died, both Vikki and her sister underwent mastectomies at the same time after finding lumps in their own breast.
Charity Hospitality Action supported 106 people in need in the North West last year.
Dawn Holding, Northern Regional Co-ordinator for Hospitality Action, said: “Sadly the past 12 months have been incredibly tough for Vikki and her sister.
“Unable to return to work and borrowing money from her friends and family to keep up with her bills Vikki contacted Hospitality Action for help. We gave Vikki a crisis grant to help with her general living costs as she faces more surgery and the long road to recovery.
“Thanks to MHA we have been able to support Vikki and many others who sadly go through very tough times.”
Dawn added: “Last year was also the charity’s 180th birthday and we raised a record £1.8m.
“We are hugely grateful to be one of the nominated charities for the MHA Ball and have been partnered with them for seven years.
“Receiving almost £140,000 from the MHA Ball over the past seven years goes a long way to supporting our work which is fantastic.
“We have also received funds raised via the MHA Football Tournament, last year held at Manchester City’s Etihad training campus.
“Last year we supported 106 people in the North West spending £85,937, which is the most we have ever spent in the region.
“This shows there is a real need for our support and hence the reason the MHA is such an important factor in our fundraising.”
Adrian Ellis, Chair of MHA, said the association will continue to work with Hospitality Action throughout 2018.
“The 2017 MHA Ball saw us surpass our target and raise £32,000 for four excellent charities, which included Hospitality Action.
“We are very much looking forward to further collaboration during the course of 2018 as we do what we can to support the industry’s charity and the people who are very much in need of the fantastic help they provide to our sector.”
