Drapers Gala Dinner Raises Thousands for People with Neurological Disability
On the evening of 7 May the Worshipful Company of Drapers (Drapers’ Company) held the Drapers Gala Dinner in aid of the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability (RHN) in Putney, south west London.
The evening ended with sealed pledges from guests, and the event combined with the Master’s Appeal raised in excess of £100,000, with donations still coming in.
Greeted by RHN President, Leonora, Countess of Litchfield, and Master Draper, Mr Nick Bence-Trower, guests were entertained throughout the evening by two harpists, and pianist Dr Julian O’Kelly, who is also a research fellow in Music Therapy at the RHN.
Over the course of the evening guests heard about the vital work and research undertaken at the Hospital, lastly hearing from RHN Vice-President Mrs Ruth Maxwell, who spoke movingly about her son’s tragic brain injury.
The Drapers’ Company relationship with the Hospital goes all the way back to 1920, when they made a grant of £26. This support continued until 2009, and included the building in 1985, and ongoing financial support, of the Drapers’ Wing of the Hospital.
Nick Bence-Trower, The Master Draper, said,
“My late father, Peter, a former Master, was a supporter of the Hospital, and it meant so much to him. When I met Ruth Maxwell last summer I had already decided that the RHN was the only charity that I was seriously considering supporting, but she spoke with such enthusiasm about the great work done there that had I been dithering I would have been completely persuaded.”
Paul Allen, interim Chief Executive of the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, said,
“The Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability is extremely grateful to the Drapers’ Company for their generous hospitality. We have a relationship that goes back almost 100 years, and this event is an elegant reminder of that.“Neuro-disability can happen to anyone. Without the support of the Drapers’ Company we would find it much more difficult to provide care and rehabilitation for people with neuro-disability.”
The event, which took place in Drapers’ Hall, was generously sponsored by Healthcare and Locum Recruitment (HLR) and Berenson, who provided the champagne reception.