Rooftop fundraiser helps forests
Last Saturday a charity fundraiser took place on the rooftop terrace of the Sun Palace Hotel in Albir – raising money and awareness to help plant 50,000 trees next year.
The charitable initiative ‘Forests Without Frontiers’ was one set up by Nico de Transilvania. a DJ, Producer and Creative Director to protect the virgin forests in Romania, her birthplace. She has spent many years working on the reforestation of areas where there have been massive clear-outs and is so passionate that all album profit sales will go towards planting of new trees to preserve the natural habitat. She has just released her new album – ‘Be One’ and all profits will be going towards this very important cause.
A number of local artistes also gave their time to the event which was well supported by the community. Councillor for Foreign Residents Martine Mertens and Councillor for Tourism Luís Morant
also both attended.
The event was organised by Danny Hughes, co-owner of Sarita Indian restaurant in Albir, who provided the catering for the event. Danny met Nico at a fundraising festival in the UK over the summer and both had shared the same interest and ethos in preserving the planet for the future generation.
Speaking to CBN Danny said “The rainforests are the lungs of the planet – we need to act now, spreading the word and changing peoples mentality. The rooftop fundraiser was absolutely fabulous and I was totally blown away by the positive feedback and support from the community”.
Local businesses donated so many great prizes but they didn’t have time to raffle everything on the night. Three in particular – A luxury boat trip, including jet ski, a limo pick up, meal at Saritas then onto cocktails on Altea seafront and a stunning gold necklace courtesy of Gold Rush Javea will be auctioned off next week instead. Danny will be putting on a special fundraising evening at the restaurant in Albir at 6:30pm on Thursday December 5, starting at 7pm. Entertaining will be Herbert on violin and the Spanish Beat Box champions Gabby and Ali, who all performed at the rooftop fundraiser. Tickets cost €16 and include an Indian buffet and a film of the event will be screened during the evening. Spaces are limited so to book a table call 604 245 734.
Part of the money raised from this extended event was to support the local Alfaz foodbank, where Danny volunteers every Wednesday and he was delighted to share with CBN that they will be handing over €500. So far over €2,500 was raised – enough to plant over 1,000 trees, but with the auction yet to take place the grand total should rise significantly.
Nico was so encouraged by the work done here that she has asked Danny to be the ambassador in Spain for the Forest Without Frontiers movement, which he was delighted to take on. He will be holding another Rooftop event at the Sun Palace Hotel next spring following the positive and encouraging feedback – as soon as the date has been confirmed we will share the news, but tickets for this exclusive event will be limited so get in quick.
Nicoleta spoke to CBN about her hope for the future – to reforest as much land as possible, particularly degraded land around the world, starting in Romania. Rebuilding wildlife corridors for animals and creating the largest natural park in Europe. Also link up in cities and create forest gardens, which is a long-term vision. Her background is music and she wants to bring people together – combining her two passions, hence the fundraiser. “People need to become more environmentally conscious; climate change is happening and we need to use less. We must give back to nature and rebalance our carbon footprint – a massive challenge. One simple solution is for everyone to plant trees for our future”.