Jun 29 - Calpe House Charitable Trust Held A Gala Dinner
The Calpe House Charitable Trust held a Gala Dinner on board the Sunborn Yacht Hotel last Saturday.
H.E. the Governor Lieutenant-General Edward Davis CB CBE, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, Mrs Picardo and Minister Bossano were among the 260 guests.
The dinner was organised as part of the Calpe House public appeal to raise money for the refurbishment of the new buildings in Norfolk Square, Paddington, London.
Albert Poggio OBE GMH, Vice-Chairman of the Trust, welcomed and thanked everybody for their support. He later went on to explain briefly the history of Calpe House and how it had become a reality some 28 years ago. He said that since the inception of the house over 3,500 patients plus their escorts have been able to use the facilities. He went on to explain that the existing house had served its purpose and there was a need to have larger and more modern facilities; these have now recently been bought by the Trust. An appeal started in December to raise £6,000,000 to completely refurbish the buildings.
Mr Poggio congratulated the whole community on their generosity and said he was overwhelmed by how the community has come together in supporting this appeal, which he hopes will reach £500,000 by the end of June.
Mr Poggio went on to pay a special tribute to Charles Tilbury who has been the back bone of the Trust for the last 28 years. Sadly Mr Tilbury has not been well and was unable to attend. Mr Poggio, on behalf of the other Trustees and all present, wished him a speedy recovery and a huge thank you for his contribution over so many years.
The Chief Minister in his address spoke passionately of his support for Calpe House and went on to present a cheque for £23,250.670 on behalf of the Government. He then continued with his speech and surprised everyone by announcing additional support for the appeal, confirming that all his Cabinet Ministers have agreed to donate £100 a month from their salary which will continue until the next general election. H.E. the Governor followed the Chief Minister’s initiative and confirmed he would be joining the Cabinet Ministers in their contribution.
The Trust are extremely grateful to all those who have committed to support the appeal; to all the companies that contributed prizes which were raffled on the evening and to Christian Hook who donated a print; and to H.E. the Governor, the Chief Minister and CBF, all of whom contributed a prize for the auction.
Finally a note of thanks to James Neish and the Miss Gibraltar organisation; to Miss Gibraltar and the other contestants who were present and to all those that contributed to the success of the Miss Gibraltar contest which allowed them to raise a staggering £15,000 for the Calpe House Appeal.
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