An online charity auction, run by Stamford-based EDGE Venues and Trinity Event Solutions, has gone live and all proceeds will go to four local charities.

The auction is part of an annual charity initiative by EDGE Venues and Trinity Event Solutions and is the culmination of a pledge to help charities by collecting LOTS, donated by venues and hotels around the UK, while on venue visits throughout the year.

For the initiative's 10th year, the team has selected four charities local to its Stamford office. The kindly donated LOTS are being released in batches over the next few weeks on EDGE Venues.com, just in time for bidders to bag a bargain gift in time for Christmas!

LOTS up for grabs include luxury weekends away, golf breaks, afternoon teas, canvas art, fine dining, an escape room experience, and more.

The EDGE Venues and Trinity Event Solutions teams' chosen charities are:  

·        Second Helpings - a project run in partnership with Stamford Methodist Church and the whole community. They aim to 'feed bellies, not bins' and they are passionate about reducing food waste and working with the community to reduce environmental impact.

·        Don't Lose Hope – a charity that offers a professional counselling service for all members of the community from age 4 upwards. This is a free service for families/individuals receiving certain state benefits and affordable to all others and now proud to be able to offer their online shop.  

·        Bumps and Beyond - founded in 2009 by Alice Scott in a small cupboard on the Stamford Hospital site. Ten years on and it is now a fully-fledged charity in its own right and has helped thousands of parents and caregivers!

·        Three Counties Dog Rescue – Bourne, Lincolnshire. Three Counties Dog Rescue has successfully re-homed over 7000 dogs and cats since its formation in 1971. All the animals are neutered, vaccinated and micro-chipped before re-homing. All work involving rehoming is done entirely by voluntary and unpaid helpers.

What's more, the team have been donating and collecting children's toys to wrap and donate directly to Bumps and Beyond (see picture).

Jacqui Kavanagh, chief executive officer of EDGE Venues and Trinity Event Solutions, said this as the auction went live: "The cost-of-living crisis is having such a negative impact on the fundraising efforts of small charities. So, for this year's Trinity EDGE Challenge, we're supporting multiple small local charities which, in turn, support those in need during tougher times.

"We're immensely grateful for the support of all the wonderful industry venues and hotels who have donated LOTS to the auction – without them, we couldn't do this. And the fact that our teams visit so many venues to soak up product knowledge as part of the donation collections means the Challenge is a win for us and our clients too." 

Tracy Winsworth, managing director of Trinity Event Solutions is delighted to see the return of the Trinity EDGE Challenge. "In the years we have been running this initiative we've successfully raised more than £200,000. Last year we raised nearly £10,000, which went towards the Ukraine Humanitarian Relief Fund through the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC). 

"This year, we're pleased to have the Challenge supporting small charities and we're asking everyone to share the auction link far and wide so we can raise as much as possible while bidders grab a special treat for Christmas or beyond."