Eddie Jordan and Marco Pierre White raised £200k at a private “Rock ‘n’ Roll” fundraising party hosted at Frankie’s Italian Bar & Grill in Knightsbridge, London to help young homeless people.
The exclusive dinner prepared by Marco Pierre White, was attended by a host of celebrity guests and friends invited by both Eddie and Marco in their ongoing support of the Amber Foundation.
Without doubt, the star of the evening was the latest state of the art green must have - the high performance Vectrix e-bike. Donated for auction by Eddie Jordan, frantic bidding for this super-charged zero emission motor-bike saw Damon Hill literally drive off with the top prize as the highest bidder.
Clearly enjoying his new environmentally friendly mode of transport, Damon gave an impromptu display to photographers outside Frankie’s demonstrating his acrobatic driving skills on two wheels as he balanced motionless on the Vectrix. “Amber is a fantastic charity and it was great that Vectrix supported it by supplying one of their carbon zero electric bikes for the auction. I could not resist the chance to buy one and help Amber at the same time! Now I feel twice as good as I did before!" Said Damon Hill.
The second Vectrix e-bike went to Queen drummer Roger Taylor and his partner Sarina. Not currently bikers, Vectrix will help them through the process of CBT training and learning how to ride and enjoy the Vectrix.
Rounding off the evening Eddie’s band, The Robbers, entertained guests with a fabulous live gig and included guest appearances from Barry McGuigan and Damon Hill, making the whole evening an unforgettable night of compassion, generosity and music genius.
Eddie Jordan who is a keen supporter of Amber and a regular visitor at its centres, said. “It’s fantastic the Vectrix bikes drew so much attention, making this auction a phenomenal success for Amber. Tonight will go a long way to funding a new Amber centre, to help more disadvantaged young people rebuild their lives. I own a Vectrix myself and must say that this product is one of the most exciting developments I’ve seen from the automotive industry for some time. With the benefit of being a consumer product we can all, from F1 drivers to City commuters, play a part in helping to reduce our carbon footprint.”
Sue Crawford-Condie from Amber said “The Amber Rocks event was hugely important in helping us to raise the money we need for a new Amber centre and we are extremely grateful to Alex Bamberg and his team at Vectrix for providing such a great auction prize. Amber looks forward to an ongoing association with Vectrix”.
So what is a Vectrix Scooter and what are is key features?
• Zero carbon emissions
• Fully charged range up to 68 miles
• Top speed of 62 mph (100 km/h)
• As responsive as a 400cc scooter but with a 125cc classification, making the bike accessible to anyone with a provisional licence who has completed CBT training.
• DAaRT™ system – Twist back the throttle for instant acceleration, and twist it forward to slow down smoothly and safely, in addition to the front and back Brembo disc brakes.
• Multi-function throttle controls a slowspeed reverse for greater manoeuvrability and easy parking
• The onboard charger recharges the scooter in just over two hours from a standard 110/220V (3 pin) power socket
• Estimated battery life of 10 years (based on 5,000 miles per year)
• Low noise for reduced sound pollution
For more information about Vectrix : www.vectrix.co.uk
About the Amber Foundation
Amber helps unemployed young people to overcome personal barriers and gain the skills, confidence and self-esteem they need to find work, accommodation and independent living. They take part in a practical programme of activities and training with the emphasis on getting a job or a place at college and finding their own stable accommodation. Since Amber was founded in 1995, over 970 people have successfully left into work, college, long term voluntary work or achieved a major goal. All left into stable accommodation. In 2007, 53 left into work, 12 to college, one to voluntary work and a further 46 have left having achieved a major goal such as being re-united with family. That’s an 84% success rate.
For more information about Amber : www.amberweb.org
