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This year’s annual DFNI Charity Ball (to be held on 27 February in London) is dedicated to a fine cause – The Jim Corbett Environmental Primary and Junior School, Patrani in India.
The school was nominated as the recipient of this year’s fund-raising by World Duty Free, Alpha Retail and Aldeasa Business Relations & External Affairs Director Sarah Branquinho.
It is hoped that the Bollywood-themed evening will help fund the refurbishment and extension of a school in the foothills of the Himalayas at an estimated cost of £50,000 (less than US$73,000 at current rates of exchange). It houses 200 girls and boys aged 4–12.
Sarah and her husband, TFWA President and Maxxium Global Travel Retail President Erik Juul-Mortensen, have worked on two projects in India through their involvement with Fulcrum, a charity that offers personal development and leadership opportunities to young people.
Fulcrum founder John Hunt has retired and is in the process of registering the Lotus Flower Trust, of which Branquinho will be a trustee. She told DFNI: “The Lotus Flower Trust will take over responsibility from Fulcrum for the two village community projects that Erik and I have worked on, and has several more projects in the pipeline.
“Not only would money raised by the Ball help to fund the development of the school, but members of the industry are warmly invited to become involved in a number of ways: to go to India to work on the project itself or to contribute books and other educational materials. And anyone who has teenagers looking for unpaid gap-year work would have a great place to send them to help teach English once the school is up and running,” Branquinho added.
If you would like to support the event by booking tables or seats; or by donating auction prizes or cash, please contact Gerrard Kennedy (gerrard.kennedy@dfnionline.com, tel: +44 20 8253 8607) or Amanda Felix (amanda.felix@dfnionline.com, tel: +44 20 8253 8604).
The Moodie Report will be supporting the DFNI event as always and hopefully this excellent project will gain a very large injection of funds at the charity dinner.