AN ambitious photo opportunity helped a group of kit car enthusiasts raise almost £3,500 for Claire House.
The North West Kit Car Owners Group (NWKCOG) hatched a plan to get as many of its members as possible together in a field to spell out its initials for drone cameras.
It put out a rallying cry for 51 'kits' to turn up for the event at Tile Farm on a field near Chester. In the end 59 turned up, with some from far and wide across the UK, including Frome near Bath. The drones were then put into action and the pictures taken.
It raised £3456.47 for Claire House, which was handed over by a group of drivers to hospice staff.
Established in 2015, The North West Kit Car Owners Group has more than 570 members and is very active.
The idea was to set up a group for kit owners to get together for runs out, meets and events.
Last year, it held more than 77 organised events, including two European trips, one to Holland and the other to the Le Mans Classic.
Group spokesman Trevor Harmer told the Globe: "We all enjoy our kits and could quite easily take this for granted 'Miles of smiles' not only for us but also when you drive in a convoy of two, six or more kits, I realised that it was quite powerful with the way people reacted to us driving down the road or parking up.
"With this in mind in October 2017 a decision was made to give something back to the community and in doing so to make the group a charitable one.
"We also needed funds to take this forward and enabled us to purchase public liability insurance, gazebos, flags, membership cards leaflets etc.
"So, a voluntary £12 yearly subscription was put forward to all our members.
"With this we started to make a difference and, in some cases members donated far more than the £12 to the group of which over 60% will go to Claire House.
"We now have a professional presence at venues allowing us to raise funds and awareness for our chosen Charity Claire House hospice we do this by allowing children to sit in our cars and the parents to take photos we ask for a £1 donation.
"With this new look we have already picked up two awards in 2018 for best Club/group at two events / car shows.
"We have now been supporting and raising money for Claire House Hospice since December 2017, through our donations from members and at events and will continue to do so for the near future."
Loren Miller, community fundraiser at Claire House, said: "We are so pleased that Trevor and the Kit Cars group chose to support Claire House throughout last year.
"They have worked hard going out and about in their fantastic cars, spreading the word about the hospice, and doing collections.
"They also visited the hospice in their cars at Christmas, which the children loved!
"The amount of money they have raised is brilliant, and will make a real difference to the families at Claire House.
"We would like to say a big thank you to everyone involved."
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