One of the main aims of the year was to raise £10,000 to their local 2012 charity partner, Ben Jonson Primary School, Mile End. Lexington set out to achieve this through a wide range of fundraising initiatives from donating £1 for every portion of sustainably caught fish sold across the business in one day, through to selling LexingTEN honey at sites. The highpoint was at Lexington’s fundraising dinner where an incredible £7,000 was raised through auctions, donations and games!
To mark the end of LexingTEN’s calendar of events and to present the £10,000 cheque to the school, an afternoon tea party was held on the stunning hospitality floor at Man Group. Attending the tea party was Dr Mel Rose, Head Teacher at Ben Jonson School, the Directors of Lexington and a group of Lexington team members who had volunteered on community projects over the course of the year.
In addition to the £10,000 Lexington have also donated sports kits, created a fruitful allotment, planted a wild flower meadow, taken pupils to Spitalfields City Farm and worked with suppliers DDP and CCS to provide lots of fabulous fruit and vegetables for art projects and new kitchen equipment to the school’s kitchen.
Julia Edmonds, Managing Director said “We have been so impressed with how engaged, enthusiastic and eager our teams were to take part in our LexingTEN initiatives over the course of the year. It really has been a fantastic way to celebrate our 10th birthday and the relationship we have forged with Ben Jonson is one that will continue into 2013 and beyond.”
Dr Mel Rose said “It has been such an incredible year for the school and we cannot thank Lexington enough! So many children have benefitted from not only the money raised, but also the incredible opportunities that have been created.“
Members of the LexingTEN committee were lucky enough to be invited to one of the school’s achievement assemblies where they presented the £10,000 cheque in front of over 500 very excited pupils. Mel has asked the pupils to think over the Christmas break about what they want to spend the £10,000 on and in January they will present their ideas!
