Ben Fund puts ‘police family’ at the heart of 50th anniversary celebrations
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Over 200 invited guests joined West Midlands Police Benevolent Fund on Saturday 20 July, to celebrate 50 years of service
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Patron of charity Chief Constable Craig Guildford, spoke of the fund’s unwavering support behind the scenes and its ‘police family’ focus
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£750 raised during event to help serving and retired officers and police staff in times of need
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Fund vows to continue with its dedicated service for the next 50 years.
We hosted our 50th Birthday Party BBQ for members and their families at Blackwell Court Adventure on Saturday 20 July. The celebrations began with an afternoon of thrilling adventure activities, including Giant zip wire, tree climbing, archery, 3G swing and dual zip wire.
Twenty-four families won places through the Fund’s ballot earlier this year and despite the rain it didn’t appear to dampen anyone’s spirits.
Special invitations for the evening BBQ were sent out to people who have made a significant contribution to the Fund, people who have championed its cause and past beneficiaries of our charity.
Award winning, professional chef, Martin Lovell provided the delicious food for the BBQ. The gourmet burgers, jerked spice salmon and honey lemon and mustard chicken skewers were part of the mouthwatering summer menu that was served.
As the rain continued in the late afternoon, all plans to enjoy a balmy summer evening outside, quickly changed to a cosy get-together in the dry shelter, listening to the uplifting tunes from Halesowen District Scouts, including Happy Birthday to the Ben Fund.
“50 years young!”, That is how the Chief Constable, Craig Guildford described the charity as he joined over 200 fellow members for the special event in his role as patron.
The Chief took part in the ceremonial cake cutting and expressed his gratitude to the Fund for its unwavering support to the wider police family over the years.
“The work of the Benevolent Fund continues, very often behind the scenes, of some very complex cases and in particular, cases where people have encountered problems in their lives or even if they have been pensioned off through their police service,” explained the Chief.
He went onto say that “The Benevolent Fund puts the ‘police family’ at the very heart of its work, delivering a vital service that is as valuable today than it was 50 years ago when it was established.”
Charity Chairman, John Williams, added. “Our celebratory event was meant to be a relaxed and informal family event, a chance for the Benevolent Fund to say, ‘thank you’ to our members for their support over the years.
“The Trustees, Operations Committee, staff and myself will continue to give our all to ensure that in 50 years’ time there’s a celebration to mark 100 years of our charity’s fantastic work. I will do my very best to be there, but it’s unlikely!”
Steve Newbury, the Charity’s General Manager said, “We have received some lovely feedback and although we had to make some last-minute changes to our event’s schedule due to the weather, I don’t think it dampened people’s mood in the slightest.
“We had tremendous support from our raffle. The final total raised from the sale of tickets was £750, which is fantastic thank you.”
Steve added, “An event on this scale takes lots of hard work, planning and support from local businesses. There are so many people we would like to formally thank.
“These include:
Helen Price and the Blackwell team for providing such a great venue and hosting the adventure activities.
Chef Martin Lovell for laying on a delicious BBQ and catering for everyone.
Jason Wouhra at Lioncroft Wholesale for supplying the drinks, the S’mores, the sweets and all the bar supplies at a very competitive price and for donating champagne for our raffle.
Roger Wouhra, from Lyons Instant Coffee for kindly donating the hot refreshments and inflating and arranging our balloons.
Adam Hewitt, for sponsoring the balloons and decorations.
Lesley Hewitt (not related to Adam) for her hard work selling raffle tickets and for sourcing the great raffle prizes. A big thank you to the many companies and local businesses for donating our fabulous raffle prizes, including Matt from LSH Auto Birmingham, Coventry City Football Club, Eric Lyons, Adrain from Glasstower, Jewellery, Henley Tweed Boutique, Henley Kitchen and Bakery, Joal Interiors, Daniel, Simon and Haydn – Knowle and Dorridge Cricket Club, Severn Valley Railway, Corrine from West Midlands Police Museum, Blackwell Court.
A big thanks to committee member Kay Bargewell and her team of scouts for their help and providing the wonderful musical medley.
Force photographer, Graham Beddingfield for capturing the day on camera. He has snapped some great action shots for the family album.
Finally, to the Ben Fund helpers for their hard work setting up the event, operating the bar and generally keeping things flowing throughout the day. Events like these take a lot of planning and many people were working hard behind the scenes in the run up to the event to make it all happen, so a big thank you.”
Why not join of the 9,000 plus police family and become a member of the West Midlands Police Benevolent Fund today. For details of all our great membership benefits for just £2.00 per month visit www.wmpben.co.uk
You too could be a part of our next commemorative celebrations!
What our members thought of the day
“My 12-year-old son said, “This has been the best day yet this year!” THANK YOU
“Despite the weather, the company, activities, food has been AWESOME! Fabulous day!”
Good zipwire, fun activities ”
“Shame about the rain, but so well organised and lots to do – well done everyone!”
“A really well organised event, good company and great food. Shame about the weather but I think the children enjoyed it”
“What a fabulous day!”
“Very good activities, lots of fun”
“Fantastic day, great entertainment, and activities. Thank you!”
“What a great day, lots of hard work for the organisers”
“Lovely day, really well organised, really friendly atmosphere. Thank you”
“What a lovely day. Even the weather didn’t dampen the fun. Thank you, P.s Fab food!”
“Great day, great food, lots of fun!”
“Great 50th, kids enjoyed it. See you soon ”
“Today has been AMAZING! It’s made my week”
“Fabulous Day, gorgeous food, great hospitality, well planned. Perfect”
“I loved the 3G Swing and the archery”
“I have really appreciated the charity even more so after meeting the lovely staff. Thank you for all you do for us. LEGENDS YOU ARE!!!”
“Thank you for all your hard work. Much appreciated. It’s been lovely xx”
“What a fabulous day. Obviously, a huge amount of work went into the organisations. Thank you so much”
“Thank you! An awesome day, we are so grateful for your support.”
“Activities great fun! Food was amazing, thanks so much for organising and the invite”
“Great day, well organised. Weather did not impact how much fun we had. Thanks”
“Brilliant day! Even though the weather had other plans, the day was perfect and this was all down to you guys! Thank you xxx”
“Enjoyable afternoon, despite the weather. Thank you for organising such a great event”
