The Mackman Group are pleased to announce that our annual fundraiser for Sri Lanka, has raised over £2,600. The funds were raised in support of some of Sri Lanka’s most vulnerable families, working in the Nuwara Eliya tea plantation communities. Surpassing last year’s total, and this years target of £2,000, the fundraising was once again supported by clients, businesses partners, family, and friends. It culminated in a mouth watering Sri Lankan street food event, held in the Mackman Group head office courtyard, in the market town of Sudbury. Traditional Sri Lankan cocktails were also on hand to wash down the traditional cuisine.
On the night volunteer staff from Mackman Group worked closely with the Sri Lankan community, and representatives from theb charity Womens Empowerment Sri Lanka. Creative Director Bruce Burgoyne added his own twist to the evening providing freshly made pizzas to order, creating a delicious fusion between Italian and Sri Lankan cultures. The evening was completed by Dr Gemma Mackman expertly auctioning authentic Sri Lankan items donated by the Sri Lankan tea community.
The funds from the fundraiser for Sri Lanka will make a direct and meaningful difference to the impoverished families in Sri Lanka’s tea estates. We are incredibly proud of our team and friends who have reached an outstanding fundraising total. Seeing what can be accomplished when people come together for a good cause is amazing. And, due to the success of this event, we are already setting the wheels in motion to host a fundraiser in 2024.
Paul Mackman – Managing Director Mackman Group
The Mackman Group guarantees that 100% of the donation’s from the fundraiser for Sri Lanka will reach intended beneficiaries. Every single penny goes directly to the tea estates project run by Women’s Empowerment Sri Lanka with all administration fees covered by the Mackman Group Directors. The organisation was initially founded to support female-headed households with their businesses or educational pursuits. They now raise funds to provide families with basic dry rations, essential during this time of economic crisis. They have done this since 2021 recognising the fundamental importance of food security as a basic human need.
The Directors of Mackman Group initially chose to support the Sri Lankan charity in 2022 as the country faced economic crisis. Motivated by the impact of the funds raised in the first year, they didn’t hesitate to continue fundraising in 2023. The business is now committed to raise even more in 2024 in what the directors hope will be a record breaking fundraiser for Sri Lanka.
The money raised will provide countless families with food security for two weeks, which is huge for those families who otherwise just don’t have food most of the time. We are incredibly grateful for the support and will ensure this goes as far as possible.
Thushara Dassanayake, Chair of Womens Empowerment Sri Lanka
In addition to raising funds Mackman Group are proud to have raised the profile of the charity which provides food parcels to tea picking families. Ten pounds sterling buys a weeks worth of basic food provisions and enables families to fund other items to benefit their families such as clothing. The food parcels contain a combination of:
- 5kg rice
- 5kg flour
- 1kg sugar
- 1kg chickpeas
- 1kg moong dhal
- 500g dried fish.
Priority is given to families who had more children to support, single parent families, or families with injured or sick working members. All funds from the fundraiser for Sri Lanka go towards the food parcels with no costs taken out by either the charity or Mackman Group. Next years ticket only event will take place on Friday June 21st, 2024.
Fundraiser for Sri Lanka 2023 video
Watch our fundraiser video 2023, which includes a conversation with the Chair of Women’s Empowerment Sri Lanka, discussing the vital need for funds and the impact this will have. We have also included photographs from the fantastic evening that helped us exceed our original fundraising target 👏🏼 We are delighted and incredibly grateful to our clients, friends and colleagues for their continued support.