Two major events raise incredible sums towards ending homelessness

We were truly humbled to partner with The Gleneagles Hotel to host The Gleneagles Gala Lunch AND to be the chosen charity partner for the British Business Awards – all in one day!

Thanks to Gleneagles for graciously hosting us for the third year running, and to the British Business Awards for choosing to support us in this way. Through auctions at both events, guests helped to raise an astonishing £1.3 million towards the mission to end homelessness. The money raised will allow Social Bite to continue to deliver support to people experiencing homelessness, as well as powering long-term projects which provide homes, jobs, food and support to people experiencing homelessness.

In particular, the generous donations from guests will contribute to building and maintaining the Social Bite Villages in Edinburgh and South Lanarkshire. The villages offer people affected by homelessness their own home with round-the-clock support, to help them break the cycle of homelessness for good.

Each event was brilliantly hosted by Rob Brydon and included inspiring speeches from Sir Bob Geldof and our founder, Josh Littlejohn MBE, along with a special performance by the inimitable Sting, who sung several of his greatest hits.

Guests at The Gleneagles Gala Lunch also heard from Jobs First employee Michael McPhee, who spoke about how his life had changed in the last year since starting the programme. He explored the theme of success, describing how he had gone from selling drugs to pay for food, to now being able to plan a birthday party for his young daughter, thanks to support and steady employment with Mitchells & Butlers’ venue Harvester.

The British Business Awards, in association with NatWest, recognised 18 leading companies from across the UK at its first ever event. Over 1,500 prestigious guests were welcomed from some of the country’s biggest and best businesses for the awards presentation, dinner and entertainment. Major multi-nationals including Scottish Power, Addelshaw Goddard and BaxterStorey were among the winners.

A heartfelt and huge thank you once again to everyone who supported and attended these events. We’re immensely grateful for all the generosity you’ve shown and look forward to sharing more in the coming months about the positive impact you’ve helped to create.