The fundraising dinner was attended by 150 people, including the three Syrian families. The Mayor of Redditch Cllr Joe Baker, Leader of Redditch Borough Council Cllr Bill Hartnett, Yvonne Rendell Chairperson of BRWR, Naeem Arif Vice Chair of BRWR, Madge Tilslley MBE, Rev Ray Khan of St. John’s Church Bromsgrove, Sukhwinder Singh of Redditch Sikh Community, Imam Masjid-e-Noor Mohammad Fazal ur Rehman, Spoz the Poet and many more guests welcomed the Syrian families. The feedback we have received from the guests has been very encouraging.
Naeem Arif, who is also the head of fundraising group, thanked Sally Woodget and Shaz Harvey for holding successful coffee mornings and raising more than £1000. He also thanked Tasnim Khawaja, Sue Yeng and Sally Woodget for selling the tickets. The Syrian reception drink ‘bolo’ for the guests made by Sally was highly appreciated. Naeem also thanked BRWR supporters for their pledges, donations, and the hard work of his colleagues on the BRWR committee and many volunteers who helped in raising well over £6000. Naeem paid special thanks to the ‘volunteers in the green’ who, beside raising funds, decorated the Town Hall, served food to the guests and cleared everything afterward. Overall, it was a great night with great people of Redditch and Bromsgrove.