Partner Article

Local businessman gets behind Sir Bobby Robson auction to raise £1 million

As a committee member for Sir Bobby’s Breakthrough charity campaign, local businessman Ian Gillespie has been working hard to get colleagues and friends to donate to an online auction that is aiming to raise an ambitious £1 million in just over two weeks in October.

Considered one of the sporting world’s biggest auctions, Sir Bobby’s Breakthrough online charity auction www.sirbobbysbreakthroughauction.com will run between 10th and 27th October and will raise crucial funds for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

Ian is Director of Activ, a telecommunications business, based on Balliol Business Park in Newcastle, and with his roots firmly embedded in the North East having grown up in Blyth, he has been behind a number of the prize donations made by businesses in the North. These include a ride in a WRC Rally Car donated by M-Sport, a BMW Track Day donated by Lloyd Motor Group and a stay in the Trout Hotel in Cockermouth in Cumbria.

He explained that his reasons for joining the committee of Sir Bobby’s Breakthrough were purely personal. “I was lucky enough to get to know Sir Bobby when he was Manager at Newcastle and I found him to be a very honourable and straight forward guy. I have great memories of him attending a ball with my family, as well as the football trips abroad and even when he trusted my business to repair his mobile phone which had numerous telephone numbers of many celebrities and footballing professionals.”

“However, I first became involved in Sir Bobby’s Breakthrough, when I was part of the team that supported Robbie Elliott and Phil Gray in their 3,500 mile charity bike ride in 2012; needless to say I was driving a van rather than riding a bike! But, on that epic journey I was fortunate enough to meet Gina Long, the founder of the fundraising campaign and when she asked me if I would like to join her committee and represent the charity in Newcastle, it was an offer I couldn’t refuse and gave me a great opportunity to give something back to Sir Bobby’s legacy,” Ian continued. As a committee member and big Newcastle supporter, Ian is calling on football fans and people across the region to make a difference and donate an auction item, no matter how big or how small, to help reach the auction’s ambitious £1 million target.

Proudly backed by headline supporter BT Sport, Sir Bobby’s Breakthrough auction offers the chance to bid on some of the football world’s best memorabilia and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Prizes focussed on Sir Bobby Robson include a Newcastle United signed shirt, a painting by Ben Moseley of ’Sir Bobby the Great, Italia ‘90’, a limited edition bronze statue of Sir Bobby by Tom Maley and a NUFC ticket experience for two.

Other auction items for 2013 include lunch with Bill Nighy, a Tottenham Hotspur experience including lunch with Manager, Andre Villas-Boas, a VIP trip to next year’s F1 in Monaco by private ‘Eclipse’ jet, a week sailing on a luxury catamaran ‘Akasha’, a one-on-one personal bowling tuition with England cricketer Graeme Swann at Lords and Paul Gascoigne’s England match shirt from a pre-Italia ’90 training game.

Auction items are announced daily. Visit www.sirbobbysbreakthrough.com to register as to not miss out!

Mark Robson, Sir Bobby’s son and part of the Sir Bobby’s Breakthrough committee, comments: “Sadly, cancer is likely to affect every one of us in one way or another and my family knows firsthand the pain it can cause. The online auction is a fantastic way to help us continue the work my father started and raise crucial funds for these charities.”

Gina Long, Founder, concludes, “We are truly overwhelmed by the support we have already received but we’re not there yet! At this stage we have 200 auction prizes and we need at least another 200 to reach our target. With the help of our committee members like Ian and people across the country I’m sure we can reach our goal. Please, please consider donating a money-can’t-buy prize and help make a real difference.”

For more information on how to get involved, visit: www.sirbobbysbreakthrough.com

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Activ .