Restaurant owners Elaine and Peter Kinsella have been named as the inaugural winners of Leukaemia and Myeloma Research UK’s (LMRUK) Fundraisers of the Year award.
The couple from Liverpool took the honours for raising an incredible £15,000 for LMRUK, West Lancs and Merseyside Myeloma Support Group and the Liverpool Haematology Patient Support Group, with the help of their customers.
Elaine and Peter jointly run the Lunya Restaurant in Hanover Street and Lunyalita on the Albert Docks and for three months from October 2021 to January 2022, invited customers to add an extra pound to their bill that went into a charity pot. The couple promised to match the final total, which was £7,500, enabling £15,000 to be split between the three good causes.
Both the charity and support groups are particularly important to Elaine. She was diagnosed with myeloma in January 2021 following a routine blood test and received treatment and a stem cell transplant at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Liverpool. During her recovery, she joined the West Lancs and Merseyside Myeloma Support Group too.
Elaine said that both she and Peter were extremely honoured to receive the award. “We wanted to do everything we could to give something back to LMRUK and the support groups who do such wonderful, selfless work in support of people affected by or living with blood cancer.”
“Achieving the total would not have been possible without the many kind donations we received from our customers. Everyone was so supportive of our fundraising idea, and we cannot thank them all enough.”
Dr Joanna Tilley, Operations Director at LMRUK, said that the award was in recognition of the incredible amount Elaine and Peter had raised for the charity, with the support of their generous customers.
“Fundraisers like Elaine and Peter are the reason we are able to continue our vital research work, as such a significant percentage of our total income is through individual donations and fundraising events,” said Joanna.
“They should both be very proud of such an amazing total, thanks in no small measure to their own incredible generosity, making them very worthy winners indeed of our first Fundraiser of the Year Award.”
Read Elaine and Peter Kinsella’s full fundraising story here.
