L & F Jones held its 22nd Annual Charity Gala Dinner at the Best Western Plus Centurion Hotel on the 23rd November, supporting its charity of the year, ‘The Nicola Corry Support Foundation’. The Gala is held every year, and has raised more than £100,000 for charities.

The evening was attended by staff, customers, suppliers and a Nicola Corry Support Foundation representative. The Nicola Corry Support Foundation is a great cause, and one L & F Jones feels passionately about.

It was originally created to help Nicola and her family in her fight against a very rare cancer. Just after giving birth to a son, she needed to have chemotherapy treatment. The task of coping and caring for Alfie, as well as enduring chemotherapy, was so immense for her family, that her friends rallied round and created a fund to help them.

After Nicola sadly passed away on 23rd May 2005, her family and friends wanted to continue with the Fund to help others in a similar situation. The Foundation provides financial support for pre-school nursery, complementary treatments and

holiday breaks.

Since 2006, it has helped over 300 families, with total grants in excess of £300,000 plus donations of more than £10,000 to the Bristol NHS. The Foundation is managed by a Board of Trustees plus a wonderful core of around twelve volunteers.

As well as raising money for charity, the gala dinner recognises the outstanding achievement of suppliers, customers and its loyal staff.

There were four Customer Awards on the evening, all of them being local businesses. The Jones Food Solutions Caterer of the Year in the Education Sector went to the Dragonfly Trust; in the Care Sector, St. Monica Trust; in the Licensed Sector to Wookey Hole and in the Unlicensed Sector, the winner was Cartgate Lodge.

A special recognition award was also given to Bev Barnes, who has been a dedicated and respected employee with the company for forty years.

The evening was a great success, raising over £4,000. Ray D’Arcy (Managing Director and host of the evening), said: “I have been extremely proud to organise this event for such a worthy cause.

“The night was an astonishing success, and everyone worked really hard to pull it all together. The splendour of the theme (the Titanic) made the night look extra special, and all who attended had a fantastic evening. I would like to congratulate all the winners at the charity auction, and thank everyone for attending and showing your support.”