This year's J.Safra Sarasin Car Rally took place last week in Monte Carlo, raising over half a million pounds for the Jewish fertility organisation Chana. 

 

Taking place over three days, the seventy five participants raced around the gorgeous area in a mix of vintage and brand new super cars including McLaren's  Ferraris and Lamborghini's  Flying in their own cars was also an option with one fellow from Beijing even bringing in his Aston Martin DB6 all the way to Monte Carlo. 

 

Based at the Meridian Hotel, the drivers travelled out in convoy using an innovative app, which tracked and shared everyone's location.  The routes included destinations such as the Chateau de Taulane where lunch was served by Ezri Catering and parts of the famous Monte Carlo Rally like the historical Route Napoléon.

 

At the site of the chase scene from Goldeneye, drivers were timed competing to imitate James Bond's exact average speed of 100km per hour with their speedometers covered. The closest achieved was 99km per hour performed by Avin Lieberman from Cape Town that was presented with 'The Closest Driver Award' at the Gala Dinner on the last night. Other awards were presented to the fastest driver, as well as the slowest - the 'Miss Daisy Award'. "It's all good fun, for a terrific cause," says Uri Goldberg from London.

 

The final evening began with a wine tasting on the beach, followed by dinner with a touching appeal by a couple that had children thanks to the work of Chana fertility organisation. The couple described the wide range of services as essential tools they needed and moved the audience when concluded; "now our favorite tool is a hammer - to hang up photos of our children, thanks to Chana." 

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The program was coordinated by JAM Events. Sponsors included J. Safra Sarasin Bank, Reich Insurance, Blue Rock Group, Teacher Stern, Rykar, Grapevine and Kedem Europe.

 

The Rally Committee includes: Benny Groszman, Mark Morris, Danny Brodie, Uri Goldberg, Melly Lifshitz and Marc Rogoff.

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Chana a registered UK charity supports couples experiencing infertility. One in six couples experience infertility and couples in the Jewish community are no different. Chana is here to help and to ensure that no one is left to deal with his or her situation alone without support. Chana provides confidential one-to-one and couples counseling, professional male and female support workers, a dedicated confidential helpline, specialist medical support, information, an expert medical advisory panel and more.

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Crucially, in today’s climate of reduced and sometimes non-existent treatments available on the NHS, Chana provides funding for fertility treatments. These treatments are horrendously expensive with the most basic IVF cycle costing in excess of £5k and up to £18k for just one complex intervention.  

The charity relies totally on private donations. Since Chana was established 24 years ago, they have helped to bring a total of 634 babies into the world.

 

To support Chana, please visit: ChanaRally.com

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