A CHARITY ball, held in memory of two York teenagers to address the inequalities in charitable support for children with a life threatening diagnosis, has raised around £18,000.
The event, held at York Racecourse over the weekend, raised the money for The Millie Wright Children's Charity and Candlelighters, to support the work they both do with ill children and their families.
Around 340 people attended the Winter Ball - which was dressed by Lesley Coulthard of Treasured Occasions Venue Styling. The evening began with a drinks reception, sponsored and hosted by Pryers Solicitors LLP with operatic music from the trio of Andrew, Sarah and Stephen Woodmansey.
Ceri Wright, one of the founders of The Millie Wright Children's Charity, said: "After the drinks reception, guests enjoyed a packed programme of activities, opened by Amy Garcia and an introduction from the two charities benefitting from the evening The Millie Wright Children's Charity and Candlelighters. We were delighted to have Amy with us.
"Amy warmed-up the guests with ‘heads and tails’ followed by dinner courses interspersed with a lively auction led by the charismatic David Mathewson of TV’s Bangers & Cash and an impressive raffle featuring prizes from generous donors, before introducing the live music from the fabulous The Y Street Band and equally fantastic Spectrum - both of whom were on top form for the event, holding a packed dance floor from start to finish.
"The event raised approximately £18,000 to be shared between the two charities - which is amazing for our first Winter Ball. Our volunteers did a sterling job and we are so grateful to them all."
The Millie Wright Children's charity was set up by the family of Millie, described by those who knew her as “inspirational and courageous," who died in August 2021 aged just 13. She had been suffering from an underlying auto-immune health condition - and fell ill in March 2021.
The family chose to set up the charity to support families in a similar situation - and they have organised different events throughout the year to raise money for them. The charity is raising awareness of the inequalities for charities supporting children with a life threatening diagnosis and held the "fabulous" Winter Ball to help to bridge the gap in charitable support that exists between cancerous and non-cancerous conditions.
The ball also raised money for Candlelighters in memory of Peter Woodmansey, a pupil at Bootham School, who died in 2020 of septicaemia aged 17 - less than three weeks after receiving a diagnosis of leukaemia.
Alison Woodmansey, Peter's mum, who helped to organise the ball, said: “Candlelighters supported us after his Leukaemia diagnosis. It's an amazing charity working alongside families, providing counselling, giving practical help, access to support groups and funding ground-breaking research.”
The Winter Ball was sponsored by Network York Business Club with further sponsorship from Shepherd Building Group Ltd, Fuel Card Services, Equinox Financial Planning Ltd and Gore Browne Investment Management.
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