A TRAFFORD business magazine has celebrated four years in business by handing over more than £3,000 to three local charities.

GM Business Connect Magazine - a business to business publication celebrated at their charity event, the 'Connectworking Lunch' at Hotel Football in Stretford to raise money for Forever Manchester - a charity that works to fund and support community activity across Greater Manchester; Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital; and the Alex Hulme Foundation for research into Non Hodgkin Lymphoma in Children.

This is the third year the magazine has chosen Forever Manchester to spread the word of making a difference and getting businesses to practise Corporate Social Responsibility in Greater Manchester, as well as networking.

The lunch also aims to raise the profile of businesses and brought together a mix of business leaders from across Greater Manchester.

Paul Mirage co-director with business partner Jon Cheetham said: “This was originally and idea inspired by Phil Jones MBE and ex-president of Forever Manchester several years ago when Phil gave an inspiring speech for businesses to reset their minds about charities and has played a major role in the Connectworking Lunch for the past three years."

Writer, politician and broadcaster Edwina Currie also attended the event to deliver an after dinner speech to support the event and talk about her career with anecdotes on her political past, views into the current state of the economy and a few observations on her experiences with reality TV.

There were also notable appearances from Manchester City legend Dennis Tueart, who was promoting his autobiography on behalf of The Christie.

The event started with drinks on the rooftop five-a-side pitch known as Heaven for networking before moving to the Stadium Suite where Paul Mirage from GM Business Connect Magazine welcomed everyone.

The headline sponsor for the evening was Together Money, a business that engages with charitable groups and organisations. Together have raised tens of thousands of pounds every year for a lot of worthy causes and giving back to its community.

Guests enjoyed a two-course lunch, a raffle and an auction with prizes including a signed Manchester City football shirt from Dennis Tueart, three signed original canvases from award winning cartoonist Tony Husband, a Sir Chris Hoy signed shirt plus a British Cycling Team signed shirt both donated by Forever Manchester.