BEN, the automotive industry charity, will be celebrating its 108^th birthday and the arrival of a new member of staff, Benjamin Bear, for National BEN week, which runs from the 15th - 21^st July 2013.

The annual celebration, has become a focus for many supportive industry concerns and this year, with the new theme ‘Bear Us In Mind’, fundraising expectations are running high.

The ‘Bear Us In Mind’ theme aims to encourage automotive companies to get their staff involved in having fun whilst raising awareness and funds for the charity.  The suggested minimum target of £108, in recognition of BEN’s age, reflects 108 years of care and support for automotive industry people.

Kelly Neal, BEN’s Events & Exhibitions Manager said: ‘National BEN Week gives everybody the opportunity to have some fun and, with the arrival of our new member of staff, the opportunities are endless; Best Dressed Bear, Bear Bake-Off, Teddy Bear’s Picnic, a Bear Road Trip and Fact or Bear-Faced Lie are just a few of the ideas we’ve come up with but what we need now is to get as many people to take part as we can. No matter how big or small the fundraising idea, every penny goes towards helping our automotive industry colleagues in times of need.’