IGA makes £20,000 donation to Ben

The Independent Garage Association (IGA) has donated £20,000 to automotive charity Ben to help the charity provide vital support to people in the automotive sector.

The automotive benevolent charity now looks set to be handed a £500,000 Christmas gift after the Ben Ball 2021 succeeded in delivering a £96,500 festive fund-raising boost.

Donations made at the event at The Roundhouse, London, will be combined with pledges made to its urgent Christmas Appeal to create a near half-a-million fund to help people in financial hardship or struggling with physical or mental issues.

Auto Trader has also made a £55,000 donation to charity and supported the Ben Ball as headline sponsor.

Stuart James, chief executive at the Independent Garage Association (IGA), who made the donation on behalf of the organisation's members, said: “It has been another very difficult year for our industry as we continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and Ben has seen a huge increase in demand for their life-saving support and services.

“There has never been a more important time for our industry to come together to help those in need.

“I am delighted to make this donation as a thank you from members of the association, and to help Ben continue to provide their indispensable support to people struggling in our sector throughout this unprecedented time.”

Marshall Motor Group has also boosted the fund-raising efforts of the automotive charity with a £50,000 donation to aid its efforts to address the “unprecedented impact” of COVID-19.

The charity recently teamed up with wellbeing data specialists Wellonomics to provide a customised wellbeing platform to automotive businesses.