Forth Bridge Abseil raises over £305k for good causes, & more fundraising event news
Melanie May | 15 November 2023 | News
Catch up with the latest fundraising event news, including this year’s STV Children’s Appeal total, news of the Forth Bridge Abseil, which raised money for 34 charities, and more.
Action Against Hunger raises £460k with 17th annual Fine Wine and Art Dinner
Action Against Hunger held its 17th annual Fine Wine and Art Dinner on Saturday 4 November. With £460,000 raised on the night, the event has now surpassed £5 million raised since its inception 17 years ago.
The flagship gala was attended by 200 guests, who enjoyed four-course meals cooked by Michelin-starred chefs Angela Hartnett, Robert Reid and Neil Borthwick, with wine selections from Liberty Wines. Hosted by Mariella Frostrup, the evening included live and silent auctions with prizes including a personal cooking day with Raymond Blanc and Angela Harnett, a kitchen table lunch at Mark Hix’s home, a tour of the Burgundy wineries with David Gleave, and a private carriage on the British Pullman for 16 guests.
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Forth Bridge Abseil raises over £305k for 34 charities in one day
34 charities raised over £305,000 in one day as almost 600 people abseiled off Scotland’s best-loved landmark in the Forth Bridge Abseil.
The event is run by Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, in partnership with Network Rail and Balfour Beatty. This event was the first time since 2019 that the fundraising event had been open to the public due to pandemic restrictions. Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland raised over £120,000, which is equivalent to 6,170hrs of vital one to one support to help somebody adjust after a hospital stay following a stroke, heart attack or due to a chest condition or Long Covid.
£150,000 raised for charities by Run Alton Towers
15,000 people part in November’s Run Alton Towers where participants were also joined by Sir Mo Farah. This was the third edition of Run Alton Towers, which included 5k, 10k, Half Marathon and junior races within and around the theme park resort. £150,000 was cumulatively raised for charitable causes. The event’s official charity partner was Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity.
Venari challenge raises £23k for charity
Global executive search firm Venari Partners’s Venari Partners Challenge saw seven individuals take part in a five-day, once-in-a-lifetime adventure trekking through Jordan to raise money for charity. The participants, all of whom have had significant challenges to overcome in recent years, went through a nomination process before being chosen by a neutral panel, and joined representatives from Venari Partners and Joramco (who were an official sponsor) in a journey led by the adventurer and endurance athlete, Sean Conway. Each participant raised money for the charity of their choice – including Black Women Rising, CALM, and The Grand Appeal, and so far over £23,000 has been raised.
Charity golf day raises over £30,000 for charities
A charity golf day organised by homebuilder Bellway Kent has raised over £30,000, split equally between Kent-based charity, We Are Beams – which provides support services to disabled children and their families – and Cancer Research UK, Bellway Group’s chosen national charity.
The event, which included a golf tournament and evening entertainment, took place on Thursday 26 October at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Tudor Park Country Club in Bearsted. Former Arsenal footballer Ray Parlour was the guest speaker at the event, which also included entertainment from magician Darren Delaney, while a trip to the Formula One Grand Prix in Las Vegas and a private tailoring experience were among items up for auction at the event.
STV Children’s Appeal raises over £2.2mn
A grand total of £2,224,145 has been raised by the STV Children’s Appeal throughout 2023. STV Children’s Appeal partners raised thousands of pounds this year through a variety of fundraising methods, including the Kiltwalk, golf days, running, cycling and customer donations.
STV Children’s Appeal Show took place in November and highlighted the efforts of fundraisers and told of the charities supporting families up and down the country who are affected by poverty. The programme was presented by host Lorraine Kelly, alongside STV’s Sean Batty, and broadcast from charity Refuweegee’s headquarters in Glasgow’s city centre. It closed with a performance by North-Lanarkshire born singer-songwriter Tom Walker.
Distillers’ Charity raises over £2.2mn through second One of One Auction
The Distillers’ Charity hosted its second biennial One of One Auction, in partnership with Sotheby’s, in the stately Hopetoun House near Edinburgh last month. Comprising a selection of ultra-rare Scotch whiskies, the 39-lot sale – which attracted lively bidding in the room and fierce bidding online – was attended by 200 guests from across the globe, and brought an outstanding total of £2,248,750, more than double the pre-sale low estimate.
Hammer proceeds of £1.8 million from the auction will primarily benefit The Distillers’ Charity’s Youth Action Fund, which aims to transform the lives of young people in Scotland aged between 16 and 25, by helping them to develop knowledge, confidence, resilience, and skills. The result means that the first two Distillers One of One Auctions have raised a combined total of £4.2mn for charity.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.