PICTURED: Gwyn Griffiths says ‘thanks!’ to Parvez Kayani at the AVA Christmas lunch
On the occasion of its fourth annual Christmas Lunch, the AVA decided that charity really should begin at home…
In August, PV featured the story of Cerys Griffiths, a six year old from Pencoed in Bridgend. Born with quadriplegic cerebral palsy Cerys desperately needs an operation in the US, at a cost of £60k.
Cerys’ father, Gwyn, works for RPC Tedeco-Gizeh and he was on hand at the celebration lunch to present prizes donated by big-hearted vending businesses for a fund raising raffle. Each diner was invited to ‘put a tenner in an envelope’. Just over £2,000 was raised in this way; a stunning result. Then Parvez Kayani, Managing Director of Datateam Business Media, (the publishers of Vending International), had a quiet word with the organisers and pledged to match the sum already raised.
Parvez hoped to do this ‘on the quiet’, but it wasn’t to be. He was named by Jonathan Hilder and then asked to stand by Brian Tustain, so that the gathering could applaud his considerable largesse. So much for anonymity!
So, since the cat is well and truly out of the bag, we feel free to offer our congratulations to Parvez. It was a noble thing you did, sir.
As you might expect, Gwyn was delighted and when Brian Tustain teamed up with Johnny Broderick to auction a signed England test team photograph – adding a further £1,000 to the kitty – he could barely contain himself.
To raise more than £5k over lunch speaks well of the vending fraternity and it brings the operation, which Cerys needs so desperately, that little bit closer.
