Vindis Bentley and the driving force behind its corporate fundraising, Steve Millward, have been honoured for raising more than £10,000 in the first year of opening for East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH).

They have made new friends along the way and EACH supporters have also had the opportunity to attend Bentley events too.

The funds raised by Vindis Bentley, which has dealerships in Norwich and Cambridge, are being used to deliver vital care to children and young people with life-threatening conditions, wherever the family wishes. This care is provided in the hospice, in the community or in the child's home. These services include short-term break care, specialist play activities, music therapy, hypdrotherapy, parent and sibling groups, care at end of life and bereavement support for all family members.

The highly-skilled care teams help children and their families with the emotional and physical challenges they face, helping them to make the most of life.

It's been a fabulous year with a number of exciting events. A ladies evening was hosted on the emptied mezzanine flooring of the Bentley Cambridge showroom. It was an evening of entertainment highlighted by a fabulous catwalk show, presented by local fashion boutique Anne Furbank, featuring beautiful, hand-picked clothes from around the world. The temptation continued with a luxury Market Place featuring bespoke designs from Cellini Jewellers, Mappin & Webb and the exclusive range from Bentley Eyeware. Guests flocked to the adorable Bentley Bears which were sold on the evening with all profits given to EACH.

Steve Millward, head of Vindis Bentley, said: 'Having been to visit the EACH hospice in Milton, I have seen for myself the great work the charity does and how any fund-raising goes to help.

'We are very fortunate to work for and with luxury brands and although we are raising money for a serious charity we have had a lot of fun in the process. I'd like to thank all our partners for their support and those who attended our events for their generosity.'

Earlier this year, Vindis Bentley was a main sponsor of the EDP Wedding Show at the Norfolk Showground at Costessey, where guests were given the opportunity to enter a prize draw to win a Bentley for their special day. All proceeds raised from this competition, that was held across the weekend, were given to EACH.

The fund-raising events also included a dynamic driving day at Alconbury airfield which saw customers put the Bentleys through their paces. All the time they were under instruction from the Bentley driving team so the customers could fully explore the cars' outstanding performance and abilities.

Even in the cold British winter, the team from Vindis Bentley and EACH managed to enjoy the driving experiences, with Denise Fenn, partnership manager for EACH saying: 'Vindis Bentley are clearly demonstrating their corporate social responsibility, while creating innovative fund-raising opportunities for EACH at these events.'

Denise went on to say: 'Vindis Bentley make a difference, help us to drive us forward and make a positive impact on the work of EACH. East Anglia's Children's Hospices need to raise more than £5.7m to deliver our services this year. We continue to develop the quality and range of our services to meet the needs of children, young people and their families. The number of families we support continues to rise.

'Vindis Bentley, Steve Millward and the team have joined us in raising much-needed funds, helping to provide care and support 'EACH' step of the way and we wholeheartedly give thanks for such a successful, worthwhile and genuine working partnership.'

Last month Steve Millward was presented with a fund-raising award to celebrate raising more than £10,000 last year for EACH, with help and support from their strong business relationships with the Jockey Club, Anne Furbanks and Cellini Jewellery.

The award marks a year of exciting fund-raising events, and the development of not only a partnership, but a friendship with EACH. Vindis Bentley looks forward to the year ahead, as it continues to raise funds for the local charity which also has a hospice at Quidenham, near Attleborough, and Ipswich.