Recession Spoils BEN’s Appetite for Annual Lunch

There’s no such thing as a free lunch, and for automotive industry charity BEN a dearth of funds in this period of recession has led to the cancellation of its 2009 lunch event. The BEN Annual Lunch, a thank you to supporters that have helped the charity over the previous year, is normally sponsored so as to not divert money from the main business of care and welfare. BEN reports, however, that the recession has affected its fundraising income, and that in these “difficult times” even its traditional supporters have needed to cut their costs.

“We remain as grateful as ever to our supporters and hope they will understand why we have decided not to go ahead with the Annual Lunch,” said BEN chief executive David Main. “With our fundraising income declining due to the tough economic climate our priority has to be on handling the increased volume of people in need and maintaining the high standards of care we give those in the industry. We are sure that all of those who know BEN will appreciate our priorities. We hope to invite supporters to other events later this year to thank them for the invaluable help they have given us this year.”