When Jerry Bart joined telecoms company Ecocall in 2000 and founded the BEN Telecom Alliance, little did he know how successful the project would be. His idea was simple: sign up to Ecocall as your telecoms provider and you can save up to 40 per cent on your existing BT bill and also for every call made, 2.5 per cent of the value would be given to BEN.

The latest cheque for nearly £9,000 was recently presented to Charles Davis, Director of Fundraising and Communications at BEN, by Opal's Steve Cook and Jerry Bart. This brings the total donations since 2000 to more than £70,000.

We are extremely grateful to Jerry for his enthusiasm and commitment to the BEN Telecom Alliance and to all the major automotive associations; in particular the ADF, VBRA and the NTDA who have helped promote the scheme to their members and joined in their own right. Indeed, automotive customers who originally signed up such as NGK, Continental Tyres, Maccess and the SMMT are still using this service which points to the value it can offer.

Never one to sit around, Jerry has recently negotiated a deal with all the mobile networks to donate £5 to BEN on every connection, providing these orders come through his BEN team. He is expecting contributions to more than double as a result of the increased support from Opal Telecom and the new mobile network agreement.

Thanks Jerry, and keep up the good work. If you would like to know more about this initiative or get a quote on fixed lines or mobiles, please contact Jerry on 07930 354669 or email jbart@opaltelecom.co.uk