Best of British
BRIGHTON 2016
“Our Best of British guests never fail to
give generously and the money raised
will continue the work of Rockinghorse
as it looks to celebrate its own golden
jubilee next year, having helped tens of
thousands of Sussex children lead better
and healthier lives.”
Rockinghorse is the official fundraising
arm of the Royal Alexandra Children’s
Hospital in Brighton, and a vital supporter
of the neighbouring Trevor Mann Baby
Unit and its sister site, the Special Care
Baby Unit in Haywards Heath.
The charity raises money for life-saving
and cutting-edge medical equipment
while ensuring that children are treated
in an environment better suited to their
needs.
At MWB we have been proud to be
involved with Best of British for many
years and we are really proud of the way
that the business community digs deep
to raise money for such worthy causes
like Rockinghorse.
For the last five years we have been the headline sponsor for
one of the region’s biggest charity sporting lunches, Best of
British which has raised thousands of pounds for worthy local
charities.
This year is the 50th anniversary of our
World Cup victory and we were lucky
enough to have the footballer who
scored those famous three goals to
help raise money for our charity partner,
Rockinghorse.
problems.
Hat-trick hero Sir Geoff Hurst charmed
almost 500 guests from the Sussex
business community at the lunch at the
Grand hotel in June and helped us raise
in excess of £38,000 for this worthy
cause.
“While we very much continue to service
these areas robustly, we are becoming
far more acutely aware of the importance
surrounding the support of children
and young people with complex mental
health issues right here in Sussex.”
Sir Geoff stepped in for his 1966 teammate Gordon Banks who had been due
to attend the sporting lunch but was
unable to make it for health reasons.
“Brighton was incredibly gracious to
welcome our speaker Sir Geoff Hurst,
who stepped in at the last minute
following news of Gordon Banks’ ill
health.
Funds raised from the Best of British
event went to support the charity’s
annual Summer of Sport initiative, which
this year was providing activities and
leisure opportunities for local young
people suffering from mental health
94
Rockinghorse chief executive Ryan Heal
said: “Rockinghorse has traditionally
focused its efforts on clinical equipment
and resource.
“He has been suffering from kidney
cancer for the past couple of years and
our guests began the day with a very
respectful show of support for Mr Banks
with a heartfelt moment’s applause.