Supercars put on show as Leeds garage Bsmart Autocentre raises thousands of pounds for charity
and live on Freeview channel 276
Family-run garage Bsmart Autocentre will split the £3,650 raised between local charities St Gemma’s Hospice and Leeds Mind.
The money was raised through JustGiving pages and the fundraising event earlier this month.
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Hide AdThere was live entertainment, food, music and stalls, as well as a gathering of more than 20 featured cars. A raffle also took place, with prizes donated by local businesses.
Bina Sirha, of Bsmart Autocentre, said: “We’re still overwhelmed by the event because we had so much support from the community.”
Bina said the fundraiser was inspired by those at the garage losing people close to them during the pandemic, as well as their own struggles with mental health.
“We’ve all suffered with mental challenges, especially through the pandemic," she said.
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Hide Ad“We've seen some people in the local community who have sadly lost their lives to suicide, and we wanted to make people aware of mental health problems and expose these issues, it's about speaking openly.
“The positive in all this is people coming together for a common cause, it was a really good community event and people are already asking when we’ll do it again.”
That sense of community was also at the heart of the company’s decision to include local businesses in the event.
Bina added: “It's about giving back, especially after the pandemic and with prices for everything going up.
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Hide Ad“We wanted to stay local and give something back to the community, there might come a time where we all need St Gemma's.”
Hannah Whitcombe, a fundraiser at St Gemma's Hospice, said: “On behalf of everyone at St Gemma’s Hospice, I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to Bsmart Autocentre for organising such a fantastic fundraising event and to all those who supported and attended on the day.
“The care that we provide to patients and their loved ones is only made possible by the involvement of our local community and it’s thanks to fundraising like this that we are able to help more than 3,000 families in a typical year."