International relief and development charity World Emergency Relief (WER) has been presented with a cheque for nearly £7,000 from Slough-based acoustic ceiling company OWA.

The funds for the donation were raised through a charity auction at the company's massive 25th anniversary bash, held in central London earlier this year. The event drew more than 200 guests from as far afield as Brazil, Hong Kong, South Africa, USA, Turkey, Russia, Poland, Belgium, Holland and France as well as from OWA's headquarters in Amorbach, Germany.

World Emergency Relief was chosen as OWA's nominated anniversary charity for the work it does in over 20 developing countries across the globe. The charity supports a range of projects working with local partners such as orphanages, healthcare and education schemes, schools and medical centres. It also distributes donated humanitarian supplies and provides funds for capacity building and grass roots training.

The funds raised by OWA will be channelled into a number of projects including support for cyclone victims in Burma and 'Kick It Into Play', a football and community programme in South Africa.

Andrew Smith, Managing Director of OWA UK said: "In recognising our success as part of a global business it was important to us to give something back to the international community, hence we chose a charity that supports projects worldwide. We were extremely pleased to have raised such a large sum of money through our charity auction, and thank the guests for their generosity with their donations."

Commenting on the donation, Alex Haxton, Director of Operations at WER said, "We are hugely grateful to OWA for their fantastic donation. The funds raised will make a significant difference to the projects we support across the world from Africa, to Asia to Central America and will enable us to bring hope for the future to children, their families, and communities."