Deaf Academy students jump start car raffle

One of Exeter’s oldest charities is marking its 190th year anniversary by launching a prestigious car raffle in the city centre. Mercedes-Benz of Exeter has donated a brand new £22,000 A-Class car which will be on display in Princesshay to raise thousands of pounds for the Deaf Academy.

Raffle tickets are now on sale until Christmas Eve, following the announcement that Exeter Royal Academy for Deaf Education is the shopping centre’s ‘2016 Charity of the Year’.

Fundraising Manager, Tori Vince said ‘It’s amazing to think that Exeter Deaf Academy was conceived by our charity founders 190 years ago in The Royal Clarence Hotel, Exeter. The charity has so much history in the city. Never in our founder’s wildest dreams could they have imagined how much the charity would achieve over the years to break down barriers to education and create so many bright futures for Deaf young people.’

Tori continued, ‘The donation of a new A-Class car from Mercedes-Benz of Exeter is a tremendous prize that really does make our 190th anniversary something special. 100% of the proceeds from this car raffle will go towards supporting the essential and innovative work that we do. We would love to beat the local charity record for the number of raffle tickets sold as Princesshay Charity of the Year – with local support the raffle has the ability to raise thousands of pounds for the charity.’

Exeter Deaf Academy is the only specialist Deaf education provider in the South West, running a school and college for students from throughout the UK. The bilingual environment provides tailored education and care in both English and British Sign Language (BSL).

Deaf students in mainstream education are also supported by the Deaf Academy through an outreach service. However, the charity is not funded in the same way as state schools so is reliant on fundraising such as the Mercedes-Benz car raffle to support this work.

General Sales Manager at Mercedes-Benz of Exeter, Richard Golsworthy said, “It’s our pleasure to support Exeter Deaf Academy and the phenomenal work that they do creating their vision and supporting Deaf people.  With its dynamic styling and superb performance, the A-Class has generated huge interest in our showroom and we hope that it will do the same for Exeter Deaf Academy by boosting funds they so greatly deserve.”

Princesshay Operations Manager, Andrew Littlejohns agreed, “The Mercedes car raffle is a fantastic fundraising initiative and we’re very pleased to host this as part of our charity partnership with Exeter Deaf Academy this year. We really encourage people to buy a raffle ticket in support of Exeter Deaf Academy and support the sterling work that they do within the local community’.

Raffle tickets cost £2 and are on sale every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from the Car Raffle stand outside Debenhams in Princesshay shopping centre. Tickets can also be purchased on any day from the Princesshay Information Point located in Bampflyde Lane. The winning raffle ticket will be drawn randomly at 12 noon on Christmas Eve in Princesshay, Exeter. The winning prize is the new Mercedes A-Class A 180 BlueEFFICIENCY.

For more information, email the Exeter Deaf Academy fundraising team at: fundraising@exeterdeafacademy.ac.uk or call 01392 267019.