Railway Benefit Fund Raises Record £18,000 At Annual Dinner

The Railway Benefit Fund (RBF) raised in excess of £18,000 at its annual Scottish Charity Dinner; the most raised in the three years the event has been running.

Held at the Glasgow Science Centre on Friday 28 August, 2009, the event was attended by the guest of honour Stewart Stevenson, Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change, Sir William McAlpine, the Fund’s president and Lady Judy, businesses and rail related organisations and was compared by the renowned Scottish referee and lawyer, Willie Young.

Stewart Stevenson, Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change, said:

“I’m was delighted to have been invited to the Railway Benefit Fund’s third Annual Scottish Dinner and see for myself the excellent work they do supporting railway staff, their families and dependents.

“The Fund has done an excellent job raising £18,000 in Scotland and I wish them well as they try to increase that even further next year.”

During the evening, guests experienced a hands-on reception with science experiments, flame shows, dinner and ceilidh dancing music from the ever popular Glasgow band, Blaze in the Bothy. The RBF also screened its short charity film for guests. To view an excerpt, please visit http://www.railwaybenefitfund.org.uk.

David Allen, chairman of the RBF says:

“Each year we are seeing a substantial increase in the applications for funding at the RBF. Which makes fundraising events like the Scottish dinner so important as it enables us to meet this increase in demand. We are particularly grateful to DB Schenker and First Scotrail for their support”

The funds raised will help the charity provide support to the young and old, active or retired workers connected to the railways. In the last year, the RBF made grants of roundly £500,000 to help more than 700 families across the UK.

David Allen concludes:

“We are absolutely thrilled with the results from this year’s dinner and would like to thank everyone who was involved. A brilliant evening was had by all and we look forward to increasing the total again next year.”