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TOC Dinner raises £850,000 for Spinal Injuries Association

Posted by Narinder Uniacke on 17th October 2019

Last Wednesday saw The October Club’s 32nd fundraising dinner at London’s iconic Savoy Hotel with SIA, the national charity supporting those with a spinal cord injury, as their charity partner.

The Club raised £850,000 which will help scale SIA's Nurse Specialist pilot project. Please read further here.

400 guests attended the dinner and the evening included speeches by Henry Knapman, Chairman of The October Club, Spinal Cord Injury Nurse Specialist Carol Adcock, and member of Spinal Injuries Association Martin Hibbert.

Funds were raised on the night via a live and silent auction, with lots such as a David Yarrow original image, 'Squad', a private box at Ascot Racecourse, a Monaco Grand Prix experience as the personal guest of ROKiT Williams Racing Deputy Team Principal Claire Williams OBE,  and a unique behind the scenes experience at the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden. Additionally, guests were able to make pledges to support Spinal Injuries Association’s Nurse Specialist programme.

Spinal Injuries Association, Chief Executive Nik Hartley OBE said: “Our heartfelt thanks to The October Club. Their fantastic support , through both their Race Day in July and this remarkable event, will truly transform forever the lives of spinal cord injured people. It is terrible to think that people in the UK, paralysed by an accident or medical condition, are then at risk of poor care to the point of risking their lives. Scaling up our Nurse Specialist service will not just be life-saving but give us the chance to train a new generation of care-givers so that we can ultimately support the whole community of 50,000 people with a spinal cord injury in this country.”

Chairman of The October Club, Henry Knapman, said: “In 1987, a group of City professionals created The October Club to and held a fundraising dinner in aid of Leukaemia sufferers.  Since then, the Club’s annual dinners have raised over £11 million for transformational charity projects. This year we are delighted to support Spinal Injuries Association. Their work is so important in helping people rebuild their lives after a devastating spinal cord injury and it is great to know that our efforts will help transform many more lives.”