Lunya owners Peter & Elaine Kinsella handed over the £18,000 cheque at the Merseyside Against Blood Cancers – The Bloom Appeal’s spring charity event
Liverpool independent restaurant Lunya donated £18,000 to local blood cancer charity Merseyside Against Blood Cancers – The Bloom Appeal on Sunday 5th March. Handing over the cheque at the charity’s fundraising event ‘Bloom in Spring’ at Hope Street Hotel was Lunya owner Elaine Kinsella, who has been supporting the charity since last year, following her diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma (an incurable blood cancer) in January 2021. Elaine was invited on the board of trustees for the charity in 2022.
Specifically, over the last 6 months, Elaine and her husband Peter have been raising money for Merseyside Against Blood Cancers – The Bloom Appeal with the help of Lunya customers through its £1 on bill initiative, which has raised over £50,000 in total for other local charities after Peter and Elaine personally top up the amount collected. The money raised this time will go towards the vital work the charity does in funding research and education regarding blood cancers and giving financial grants to patients living with blood cancer in the local Merseyside area.
Peter Kinsella, co-owner of Lunya said: “Thanks to the generosity of our customers, we are proud to have raised such a large amount which will support the vital work of Merseyside Against Blood Cancers – The Bloom Appeal. We’ve seen first-hand the incredible work the charity does in aiding research and supporting people living with blood cancer with financial grants. It’s so important for us to raise money for local charities and put money back into our community to people who need it most, and after Elaine going through treatment herself over the last two years, it means a lot for us to be able to support this cause.”
Elkan Abrahamson, Chair of Merseyside Against Blood Cancers – The Bloom Appeal said: “We are delighted to receive this cheque from Lunya and send our thanks to their customers and to Peter and Elaine for such generous donations. At such challenging economic times, it’s amazing that local charities such as ours still receive wonderful support to pursue our important work.”
The event last Sunday also sought to raise awareness of blood cancers and hear about the latest research and treatment developments from the charity’s Honorary President, Professor Nagesh Kalakonda, Consultant Haemato-Oncologist at Liverpool Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. Charity Patron, Roger Phillips (former BBC Radio Merseyside presenter) also interviewed Lady Anne Dodd (widow of Sir Ken Dodd). Other VIP guests included the Lord-Lieutenant of Merseyside, Mark Blundell, the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Cllr Roy Gladden and Lesley Martin-Wright, the High Sheriff of Merseyside.
To donate or find out more about this charity follow the link below:
For further information on Merseyside Against Blood Cancers – The Bloom Appeal, contact: Mandy Davies – email info@thebloomappeal.org.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS
About Merseyside Against Blood Cancers – The Bloom Appeal
There are at least 100 different types of blood cancers and every year approximately 1,250 people in the Merseyside region will be diagnosed with a blood cancer. The charity was established in 2014 and exists to support people with blood cancer and their families in the Merseyside and surrounding areas. As well as funding research and education into treating and curing blood cancers, the charity is notable for providing individual financial grants to patients.
About Lunya
Lunya celebrates its 13th anniversary this month. A Catalan inspired restaurant and deli. founded in 2010, by husband and wife team, Peter and Elaine Kinsella, it has twice won the Good Food Guide North West Restaurant of the Year and a host of other awards and national recognition. With one restaurant in Liverpool One, another in the Albert Dock and the UK’s largest Spanish deli and online store, it has been one of the great success stories coming out from Liverpool’s hospitality sector and played an important national leadership role, campaigning for business support during the COVID pandemic. Since late 2021, they introduced an optional £1 donation on each bill in their restaurants which Peter and Elaine then top up to raise money for local cancer charities including the Clatterbridge Cancer Charity, Myeloma UK, The Bloom Appeal and a local Myeloma Support Group, raising over £50,000 so far.
