Get your chequebooks at the ready… Charity auction to be held at OPP Gala Dinner
With less than a month to go until the long awaited return of the OPP Gala Dinner on the 10th October 2012, we are delighted to announce that not only will this prestigious event recognise the very best in the overseas property industry through the presentation of the OPP Awards for Excellence but also provide an opportunity for individuals and companies alike to give something back via the new charity auction.
Organised by the Frontiers Foundation, the charitable organisation set up in 2011 by trustees Ray Withers, Chief Executive of OPP award-winning Property Frontiers and Charlotte Ashton, MD of leading PR agency, AB Property Marketing, the charity auction will raise funds by the auctioning of six superb prizes ranging from a weekend for two in a 5* French chateau to international rugby tickets and dinner for two in a top London restaurant.
Following the overwhelming success of the Frontiers Foundations’ first project, the drilling of the borehole at Ngwezi B in south west Zambia earlier this summer, every penny raised from the auction will go directly to the Frontiers Foundation’s next project – Kids in Kenya: Transforming the Ket Wangi orphanage.
The Frontiers Foundation has chosen to support the Mother of Ket Wangi, Emily Odera, in her quest not only to maintain but expand and improve her orphanage, Ket Wangi on the shores of Lake Victoria in Western Kenya.
Emily’s modest family home currently houses 32 kids affected by the post-election violence in Kenya in 2008 and another 40 or so arrive each day for food and education, 21 of them are HIV positive. The orphanage has no formal classrooms, dormitories or even a suitable kitchen; let alone a dining room, bathrooms, library and educational resources yet the children are happy and safe.
Ket Wangi’s needs are great in all extents but the Frontiers Foundation has committed to assisting in two key areas:
1. Building a block of 3 toilets with 2 sinks following the collapse of the old block in April due to a landslide
2. Building of 3 temporary classrooms dedicated to education and completion of the one classroom already started by visiting students
Charlotte Ashton, Frontiers Foundation Trustee comments,
“One of the core values underpinning the Frontiers Foundation is supporting individuals such as Emily Odera who have taken it upon themselves to make a real difference to those in need in their communities. The Ket Wangi orphanage receives no government funding and only survives on Emily’s meagre nurse’s salary and donations.
“The total funds required to complete both the classrooms and toilet block are £7,000. This relatively small amount, an average sales commission, will truly transform Ket Wangi, enabling the children to have separate sleeping and learning areas as well as hygienic toilet facilities. These new buildings will also enable the orphanage to meet official requirements, ensuring its sustainability and a future for the children.”
The auction will be conducted by the ever talented Paul Owen, Owner of the Clear Path Company, and tickets for the OPP Gala Dinner at The Brewery in The City of London are still available for £225 + VAT per seat (£191.25 + VAT per seat for OPP Connect members) and tables of ten for £2,025 + VAT (£1721.25 + VAT for OPP Connect members) via Naomi Zammit on +44 (0) 208 734 3969 or Naomi.Zammit@richmondgreengroup.com.
If you would like to know more about the Frontiers Foundation and the Kids in Kenya project you can like them on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/FrontiersFoundation or if you would like to show your support by donating an auction prize then please contact fellow Frontiers Foundation Trustee, Katie Bidwell on +44 (0) 1865 202 700.