Sporting lunch raises £35k for Brighton children’s charity

A sporting lunch has raised more than £35,000 for a Brighton children’s charity.

The Best of British event was held at the Grand hotel in Brighton last week (Friday 30 May) in support of Rockinghorse, the official fundraising arm of the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital.

Almost 500 corporate guests from across Sussex turned out for the annual sporting lunch.

Among those attending were two the former England and Arsenal footballer Paul Merson and the former England and Bath rugby player Gareth Chilcott.

An auction helped to raise £35,100 for the charity’s Sabrina’s Wish campaign and will be donated towards the purchase of six critical care ventilators for the high-dependency unit (HDU) at the Alex.

These vital pieces of equipment will help young patients with breathing difficulties by moving oxygen-enriched air in and out of their lungs, supported by an advanced monitoring system.

Rockinghorse chief executive Ryan Heal said: “Earlier this year we helped launch the Sabrina’s Wish campaign to raise as much money as we can to buy the best ventilators on the market to give doctors and nurses on the front line of paediatric care in Brighton the best tools for the job.

“This is what Rockinghorse Children’s Charity is all about and we continue to work towards having the best children’s hospital in the country.”

For more information, visit www.rockinghorse.org.uk.

Rockinghorse will be a beneficiary of the Midsummer Ball at the Hilton Brighton Metropole on Saturday 21 June.