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Dartford based Kinetic IT's gig raises thousands for those with heart disease

By: Daniel Green

Published: 00:01, 05 December 2017

A one-off band reunion helped raise thousands of pounds to support those with heart disease.

Close to Heart was a charity gig organised by Tom Cella, of Kinetic IT, supported and sponsored by Basepoint Dartford, which runs managed offices, studios and workshop units in Victoria Road.

Basepoint Dartford, where Kinetic has offices, has a yearly allocation of £10,000 from the ACT Foundation – which used to own Basepoint centres – to match any fundraising for each centre’s chosen charity.

Tom Cella of Kinetic IT Ltd with Basepoint Dartford centre manager Michelle Gagie.

Dartford had £8,600 left in its pot, after the rest was allocated to previous charity events. This was all given to the centre’s chosen charity, Cardiomyopathy UK.

Tom approached centre manager Michelle Gagie in the summer with an idea to raise more. He wanted to reform a band, in which he had been lead singer, for one night only.

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He also invited another couple to sing as part of the entertainment at Dartford Football Club and 303 tickets were sold, raising £3,030. Tom also organised a raffle with prizes including a 40in Samsung TV, an overnight stay in a five-star hotel, sports tickets and £100 gift vouchers, donated mainly by Tom’s suppliers.

An auction of a framed 2003 England Rugby World Cup winning shirt signed by the team, a football boot signed by Chelsea player Cesc Fabregas and a luxury Cornish holiday helped bring the total on the night to £9,040.

Denis Taylor, deputy chairman of the ACT Foundation, was so impressed with their efforts, he added a further £5,000.

The match funding brought the final total to £25,670.

Michelle said: “We are so proud of Tom as he was the main driving force behind the event.

“He really did work tirelessly to ensure a significant amount was raised. He brought the band back together and organised all of those raffle prizes.

“Tom was keen raise awareness of Cardiomyopathy UK as one of Basepoint’s past employees lost her husband to the dreadful disease. This event actually marked the first year anniversary of his death.”

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