BEN receives £500k in pledges following call for support

Automotive charity, Ben, has received pledges worth £0.5m following its recent rallying cry asking industry leaders for their urgent support. It is seeing a 50% increase in demand for its services at a time when income has fallen by £1m.

So far, several companies across the industry including TrustFord, Arnold Clark, Auto Trader, Motorvise, Marshall Motor Group, CDK, MC Group Ltd, Hills Ford and Chorley Motor Group have answered Ben’s rallying cry and pledged their support.

Companies are being creative with ideas such as donating this year’s Christmas party funds, ‘Charity of the month’ schemes and donations linked to survey responses or sales and profit.

Automotive companies are pledging to be an advocate for Ben, ensuring the message of support is promoted widely within their business. They are also pledging to encourage colleagues to support Ben through Payroll Giving, Ben’s Lucky Lotto and its fundraising products and events to help address the charity’s £1m shortfall.

To show your support for Ben, email now via pledge@ben.org.uk or call 01344 298135.

The charity is also launching Do It 4 Ben, which will include a new virtual challenge event in January 2021 that everyone in the industry can get involved in. Click here To Do It 4 Ben

All funds raised and donated will help automotive industry people improve their mental health, physical health and their wellbeing. It means Ben will be there to help in a crisis or if someone needs help with stress, anxiety, depression, money worries, or anything else.

Matt Wigginton, fundraising director at Ben, said: “We’ve been overwhelmed with the support from our industry so far in response to our urgent rallying cry – you’re all amazing! Every donation and offer of support make a huge difference to people’s lives. From all at Ben and from those we support, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to those who have pledged their support.

“No-one in our industry should face difficulty alone. The issues automotive people are facing now are more urgent than ever before. Our support teams are at breaking point and we can’t meet everyone’s needs without this help.

“We are very excited about the launch of Do It 4 Ben, including our new lotto and an exciting virtual event taking place in January next year, which is something the whole industry can get behind! When you Do It 4 Ben, you help ensure no-one in automotive must face life’s toughest challenges alone. Do It 4 Ben so no-one in automotive faces difficulty alone. Thank you – together we’ll always be there when people need us the most. Together, we can help change lives.”