This week Fundraising Manager Emma Drew met up with Arron French to find out more about his motivation for supporting Genesis Trust through his charity gala fundraising event. 

On Saturday 4th July, 7pm, The DoubleTree by Hilton Bath is hosting a charity Gala to support Arron’s fitness fundraising efforts. Arron is their head chef and will be cooking a meal for all guests. Tickets are £45, which covers the costs of your meal, as well as a Genesis Life Projects meal and a Foodbank parcel for a local person. Click the button below to buy your ticket now. 

Purchase Here

Arron French has been the Hilton’s head chef for four years and travels over each day from Wales. He first heard about Genesis’ support for homeless and vulnerable people through Corporate Fundraiser Rachel Baker, who met with staff to explain what we do.  

The Hilton have already supported Genesis in many ways this year with raffle prizes, a staff team running in the Bath Half and hosting the Bath Half ‘runner’s lounge’ for all Genesis runners before the race.  

Arron was part of the Bath Half Hilton team and is an avid athlete. He regularly participates in Iron Man Wales and triathlon challenges. When he heard about Genesis, Arron decided he was going to turn his challenges into a fundraising push.

He said, ‘Doing it all for Genesis has given me an extra drive to do my best. It comes back to this, if I can help, then why aren’t I?’ 

Arron decided he would raise £20,000 through multiple challenges including iron mans and triathlons. Last weekend he did an ‘aqua bike’ which consists of a 1.9k swim followed by a 99km bike ride in the Brecon Beacons. He did it in 6 hours, 18 minutes. He was particularly pleased with biking the ‘iron mountain’ in 59 minutes, 36 seconds. 

The Hilton responded to Arron’s fundraising efforts by offering to host a gala. They have provided the venue and raffle prizes free of charge, which means all profits will go to Genesis, via Arron’s fundraising page. 

The Gala is Arron’s first push for fundraising. If you would like to come and support Arron and Genesis through his Gala, please buy a ticket here. Please do help us fill these seats and make the most of this opportunity with the Hilton. Or support him through his fundraising page. 

Arron’s friends and family will be coming to support him on the night. Arron started competing in Iron Man Wales with this dad, Julian, who ran the Bath Half for Genesis this year too. 

Arron’s next challenge is 26th June in Tenby. The ‘long course’ is a 3.8km swim on Friday, a 180km bike ride on Saturday and a marathon run on Sunday. This is followed by an Outlaw triathlon in July and Iron Man Wales in September. Good luck Arron! 

Thank you Arron and Hilton Bath for providing this great opportunity for Genesis to raise funds and support homeless and vulnerable people in our community.