Inspire Catering raises £35,000 for Meningitis Research Foundation

23 Jan 2018
Inspire Catering raises £35,000 for Meningitis Research Foundation

On Wednesday 20 December we were delighted to welcome David Pease and Lorna McFarlane, owners of contract catering company Inspire Catering, to a cheque presentation in Edinburgh. Over the past year the employees of Inspire Catering have raised a phenomenal £35,153.93 for Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF).

The partnership started when David decided to run the Virgin London Marathon 2017 for MRF as meningitis is an illness that his family have been personally affected by.  David’s daughter Victoria suffered from meningitis when she was 18 years old.  Thanks to the wonderful care she received she made a full recovery.

What began as a personal challenge for David soon became a companywide effort from Inspire Catering employees to raise funds for MRF.  Teams in Inspire Catering’s units throughout Scotland undertook their own fundraising challenges, ranging from bake sales and raffles to race nights and even a 24 hour walk!

The biggest initiative has been Inspire Catering’s inaugural Shine Ball held at Sir Ian Wood House in Aberdeen on Saturday 4 March.  The ball was a huge success with an amazing £25,000 being raised.  This fantastic total was raised through a combination of ticket sales, donations and the incredible generosity of the guests at the auction on the night. 

David says, “My business partner, Lorna and I have been so impressed with the way in which everyone within Inspire Catering has supported this great charity and our fundraising efforts, which in turn has helped us raise such a fantastic amount of money.”

"This donation will help support MRF’s lifesaving research into the prevention, detection and early treatment of meningitis and septicaemia as well as allowing us to continue supporting families affected by these devastating diseases."

Lauren Hill, Community Fundraiser at MRF said, “We would like to thank David, Lorna and all of the employees of Inspire Catering for their incredible fundraising efforts over the past year. Meningitis and septicaemia are deadly diseases which can strike without warning, sometimes killing in hours, and leaving survivors with life-changing after effects. This donation will help support MRF’s lifesaving research into the prevention, detection and early treatment of meningitis and septicaemia as well as allowing us to continue supporting families affected by these devastating diseases.”

The fundraising doesn’t stop yet though. David is taking on the Virgin London Marathon once again on 22 April. Good luck David!

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