Taking place at The Leeds United Centenary Pavilion, Elland Road, the Gala was held in honour of Evri’s ’50 years of deliveries’, which the Yorkshire-based company celebrated this year.

And as well as marking the delivery firm’s 50th year, the event also honoured Evri’s newly announced partnership with Scope, which comes as part of a three-year commitment by the parcel firm, as it aims to become the most accessible parcel company.

The evening was hosted by television presenter and Scope ambassador, Alex Brooker, and alongside speeches from Evri Chief Executive, Martijn de Lange, and Scope Chief Executive, Mark Hodgkinson, the event also managed to raise a huge sum of money for Scope.

With various opportunities for fundraising taking place on the night, including a charity game of ‘Heads & Tails’, as well as a silent auction and client donations, the evening also played host to a live charity auction, hosted by auctioneer and television presenter, Tim Wonnacott, and with prizes kindly donated for the event.

The evening was a huge success in cementing the beginning of the partnership between the two organisations, and it comes as part of Evri’s wider commitment to Scope, pledging a fundraising total of £125,000 in the first year.

The event also took the opportunity to honour colleagues and couriers across the Evri network, as the ‘Gold Star’ awards were held during the evening. Nominated by fellow colleagues, couriers, line managers and customers, winners were awarded on the night with a trophy and prize, celebrating the great work they do in their own field.

Martijn de Lange, Chief Executive of Evri, said: “2024 is a special year for our business, as we mark our 50th year of deliveries, and so it was great that we were able to celebrate this important milestone with our fundraising gala event in Leeds.

“The evening was an amazing celebration of our rich history as we launched our new charity partnership with Scope, and I was also proud to recognise many of our own incredible colleagues and couriers, who have gone above and beyond in the work they do for Evri.

“I’d like to thank our clients, investors, partners, couriers, and colleagues from around the world that joined us and donated generously to Scope, along with everyone who has played an important part in our success story, as we look forward to continuing our bright future together.”

Mark Hodgkinson, Chief Executive, disability equality charity Scope, said: “I’d like to thank all the colleagues, couriers and partners at Evri, for their incredible generosity raising £29,000 for Scope. These funds will help us in our mission to create an equal future with disabled people.

“One in four of us are disabled. At Scope we campaign to transform attitudes to disability, tackle injustice and inspire action. We provide support services that empower and are a lifeline for many disabled people.

“I’d like to congratulate Evri on their 50th anniversary. It was the perfect way to celebrate the start of our partnership and we’re incredibly excited to be working with them to achieve their aim of being the most accessible parcel delivery company in the country.”

Evri’s partnership with Scope comes as the UK’s biggest parcel delivery company aims to become the most accessible in the industry, introducing a range of doorstep delivery improvements for people living with a condition or impairment.

The latest updates, informed by research conducted with the Research Institute of Disabled Consumers (RiDC), sees delivery preference enhancements, which include the ability for disabled consumers to request more time to get to the door and courier instructions to ring the doorbell instead of knocking, as well as the ability for consumers to add preferences to their account, which will apply to every Evri parcel delivery and collection.

In addition, Evri is testing a screen reader tool on www.evri.com to make its website accessible and inclusive with features such as colour changes and ADHD support.