Inspirational night at Cambridge United Community Trust gala dinner
Celebration evening at Cambridge United Sport in the Community Awards
Sport in the Community Awards evening at Cambridge United, guests arrive at the reception . Picture: Keith Heppell
Inspirational was the standout word at Cambridge United Community Trust’s (CUTC) gala dinner last Friday.
The event was held in a marquee at the League Two club’s Cambs Glass Stadium and included the Cambridge United Sport in the Community Awards, in association with the Cambridge Independent.
Special guests included Cambridge United captain Leon Legge and Shaun Whiter, 28, whose fledgling Newmarket Town career was cut short when he had to have both lower legs amputated after a hit and run crash last July.
He explained to the guests his remarkable progress in his recovery from his injuries – on the eve of embarking on a 150-mile, two-day charity ride from Ipswich Town’s ground to Hopton, Norfolk, and back using a hand-pedal bike
All money raised from tickets for the dinner will go towards projects in Abbey Ward. All money raised on the night will go to CUTC’s disability sport programme.
The dinner was sponsored by AstraZeneca, whose business development operations vice-president Shaun Grady said: “You have to go back to when AstraZeneca first arrived in Cambridge. One of the first relationships was, through Christoph Loch at the Judge Business School, we got to meet [Cambridge United chief executive] Jez [George] and Danny Kerrigan, and that led to the Active Science sport partnership. That has been a terrific initiative for us.
“When we were asked to support and sponsor the gala dinner it was a bit of a no-brainer for us really, to associate ourselves with what’s been a fantastic relationship for us in our early days in Cambridge.
“They did a phenomenal job showcasing all the things that the trust do. Jenny [Horsfield] is a director of the trust and I’m flattered to be a director of the football club board, and it was an eye-opener for me to see the range and the extent the trust do.”
Ricky Allan, managing director of the Cambridge Independent, said: “It was a privilege to work with the Cambridge United Community Trust on the Sport in the Community Awards. It was a fantastic evening that showcased the brilliant work done by the football club in the community, which is also at the heart of what we want to do as a newspaper.”
Ben Szreter, chief executive of Cambridge United Community Trust, said: “It was a wonderful evening and we’re very grateful to all those who have supported the gala dinner.
“We heard some inspirational stories of the work that the trust does in the community, and the money raised from the night will enable us to carry on that good work.
“It was also fantastic to be able to recognise the inaugural winners of the Sport in the Community Awards, whose efforts reflect exactly what we are trying to achieve as a trust.”
