LHVA Awards: Golf break, spa package and stay at Dakota Leeds hotel up for grabs in Zarach charity auction

The Leeds Hotel and Venue Awards (LHVA) has partnered with bed charity Zarach, which works to ensure every child in Leeds gets a good night's sleep.

More than £1,500 was raised for the charity during the recent LHVA Awards, which celebrated the best in hospitality after a turbulent two years for the industry.

And LHVA is now hosting a silent auction, where bidders can come away with a raft of luxury hotel stays - with all cash raised donated to Zarach.

Deputy headteacher Bex Wilson set up the charity in 2017, when one of her pupils told her he was always tired in class because he didn't have a bed.

Bex supplied the child with a new bed and fresh bedding and turned her act of kindness into a charity, helping children and families in Leeds living below the breadline.

LHVA chairman Wayne Topley said: "When Zarach approached us to support the charity, we were appalled that such a service was needed in a contemporary city such as Leeds in the modern day.

"We were compelled to support them - not only with financial support, but practical solutions that we as hoteliers are able to provide.

"Hotels are like small villages with everything a community needs for its success and survival all in one place.

"As such, our collective can offer maintenance support, volunteer teams and most importantly, temporary accommodation for families in crisis."

Prizes in the silent auction include a luxurious overnight stay at Leeds hotel Dakota, complete with dinner, bed and breakfast and a personal chauffeur, as well as a twilight spa package at Grantley Hall.

Bidders can also win a two-night golf break at Norwich hotel Sprowston Manor, complete with golf buggies, dinner, bed and breakfast.

As its charity of the year, LHVA will donate a minimum of £1,000 a year to Zarach for three years, as well as giving practical support.

“We’ve been blown away by the response from LHVA members to support us as its chosen charity," Tracey Parle, corporate relationship manager at Zarach, said.

"We work hard to make sure every child across Leeds gets a good night’s sleep by delivering beds, bed packs and basics to children in poverty

"If a child sleeps and eats well they learn better and education is the key to breaking the poverty cycle."

You can enter the silent auction here. The closing date for entries is midnight on Friday July 8 and the successful bidders will be informed via email.