"Thanks to the generosity of the sponsor companies, including DHA Lighting, ETC, Forester Health, Harmer PR, Martin Professional, PLASA, Stage Electrics, Strand Lighting, Vari-Lite Europe and WWG, the R 'n' R Area was a great success, raising in excess of £1,500," said Tony Gottelier, co-founder of Light Relief. "This was a first for both PLASA and Light Relief, and there was no way of predicting response, so we were delighted to be so busy on the Sunday that we had a queuing system! Thanks to its success, there are plans to make this a permanent amenity for the show."
Also at this year's PLASA, Light Relief introduced a new initiative called 'Gobos for Light Relief'. The scheme, which encouraged exhibitors to use the Light Relief gobos as part of their stand demonstrations and was sponsored by Apollo Design Technology, was an unprecedented success. The distinctive Light Relief sun logo could be seen shining all over Earls Court, alongside the 'We Support Light Relief' show cards provided by Le Mark. There are plans to repeat this scheme at ABTT next year. Le Mark also raised additional funds on behalf of Light Relief through a levy on sales of their generic PAL Label pack from their stand, and this scheme has since been extended to include all further sales of the packs.
More 'thank yous' must also go to PLASA, who donated £3,200 as part of their support for various charities using funds raised by the Awards for Product Excellence and to Martin Professional, Light Relief's latest corporate patron, who contributed £5,000 and an ongoing commitment to the fund. The efforts of John Simpson of White Light also helped to make PLASA a success for Light Relief, who worked tirelessly to raise money by selling sticks of 'White Light Rock'!
(Ruth Rossington)
