Foundation
Govindbhai
Contact us by email at [email protected] or mobile 07873344483
Dinner-Dance Raises
£110,000 in 8 years!
CHARITY
EDITION
FREE
quality headline act performing live, followed by a
disco. The event attracts guests from as far afield
as Rugby, Manchester, London and Edinburgh,
and we are continually looking to expand the
reach of our supporting network. The Foundation
has now raised a total of £110,000 in just eight
years. There are no administration costs as
different members of the family contribute skills like
It all began after a party. We are a family that likes parties. When nine brothers
and sisters get together with mum, spouses, children and grandchildren,
it makes quite a gathering. So it was after a particularly successful year of
weddings and get-togethers that Harkishan had his brainwave - to set up a
family charity, and host fundraising parties to give something back to the wider
community where our roots lie, and the country that is now the family’s home.
We decided to call it the Govindbhai Foundation (GBF) in honour of our father
who died in 1994. ‘It’s so satisfying to see the young-
er members of the family getting
involved’
Our first event, in 2007, was a dinner-dance for more than 250 people. We
cooked and served all the food, and astonished ourselves by raising more than
£12,000. event management, graphic design, accountancy
and hosting the evening.
After each of the eight events we’ve now held, the GBF splits the money
between a charity project in Gujarat and one in the UK. In Bradford we’ve
bought a Variety Sunshine bus, special baby cots for the hospital; we’ve paid
Autumn 2014
‘to see our
hard work
so rewarded
makes us very
proud’
Last year GBF became a registered charity, allowing
us to benefit from Gift Aid, and employ strategies
like using Just Giving and text donations. And this
year we took a new approach to fundraising. In
addition to our dinner-dance, four members of the
family took on the challenge of the Yorkshire Three
Peaks climb. And one of the youngest members,
4 year old Rohan Mistry, ran 3km to raise money
for the GBF. It’s so satisfying to see the younger
members of the family getting involved and best of
all, we’ve spent eight years successfully fundraising
- while having fun!
for days-out for young carers, and given money to support teenagers with
cancer. The Foundation’s aim is to make a difference to
children’s lives both in India and the UK and in doing
so act as an example of the positive contribution
that immigration can make to UK society.
In Gujarat we made a long term commitment to fund building work at the Dang
School for the Blind. The new school opened this April; the facilities for the
children are amazing, and to see our hard work so rewarded makes us very
proud. If you feel motivated to set up something similar
visit our website www.gbfoundation.org.uk and
contact the Govindbhai Foundation for support
and advice at [email protected].
We’ve now perfected the format for our events: a champagne reception at the
start, a 3-course meal interspersed with chances to win great prizes, a high
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