Action Against Hunger UK’s 18th annual Fine Wine & Art Dinner raises over £300k – plus more event news
Melanie May | 2 December 2024 | News
How are charities using events to raise funds and awareness? Here’s a selection of recent, current and upcoming ways: from partnership with external events, to gala dinners, charity balls and comedy tours.
GOLD Charity Ball raises £25,000 for Claire House Children’s Hospice
A VIP charity ball attended by Chester’s great and good has raised over £25,000 for Claire House Children’s Hospice. The GOLD Charity Ball was hosted by fundraiser and Head of Employment Law at law firm Aaron & Partners, Helen Watson, with a guest list including broadcaster Lucy Meacock and the High Sheriff of Clwyd, Karen Farrell-Thornley.
Taking place at Chester Cathedral and attended by 350 guests, prizes ranged from a champagne Boodles experience to a Spa & Prosecco break at Grosvenor Pulford, and the GOLDEN Raffle Prize of a trip to New York donated by Perfect Getaways. The £25,000 total brings Helen’s total personal fundraising for Claire House to over £75,000, while including her corporate fundraising the amount rises closer to £200,000.
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Tŷ Hafan announced as charity partner for Porthcawl 10K
The Porthcawl 10K Porthcawl will take place on 6 July in 2025, with Tŷ Hafan as charity partner. Entries to the event opened on Thursday 28 November and people can enter here to run for Tŷ Hafan. For the first week only runners can opt to run for the charity for free. This then rises to £5 until the end of January and then to £8 up until the event. Those who choose to run as part of Team Tŷ Hafan must pledge to raise at least £150.
Human Appeal’s Comedy Takeover Tour back for 10th year
Human Appeal has announced the 10th edition of its Comedy Takeover Tour, starting on 13 December and ending with a black-tie gala on New Year’s Eve. This year, the tour will be raising funds to support Human Appeal’s Gaza Emergency Appeal. The Comedy Tour will be taking place in additional cities, with shows will be taking place in locations including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dewsbury, Blackburn, Bradford, and Cardiff.
Among this year’s star-studded line-up are Aatif Nawaz, writer and star of BBC 3 comedy Muzlamic; Ali Official, writer and comic best known for Muzlamic and for presenting the BBC 3 film Being British Bangladeshi; American comedian Omar Regan, who has made appearances at the world-famous Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, VH1’s reality TV series titled “Fight for Fame” and as Chris Tucker’s double in the movie Rush Hour 2; Riad Moosa, whose sold-out one-man shows brought him international fame as an actor and comic; and Tez Ilyas, star of the BBC 3 comedy Man Like Mobeen.
Hospitality Action holds pre-Christmas fundraising auction
Industry charity Hospitality Action‘s 2024 Winter Online Auction, in association with payment solutions company, Square, ends today. From 18 November to 2 December, bidding has been open for more than 49 lots including a celebratory seven-course tasting menu for six at The Ritz Restaurant, an overnight stay and cocktails for two at The Savoy Hotel, London, and an overnight spa stay for two at The Swan at Lavenham Hotel & Spa, Suffolk with prosecco, dinner and couples’ massage.
Additionally, the auction features a £10 raffle, with a chance to win afternoon tea for two at The Prince Akatoki London. All funds raised will go directly to Hospitality Action.
Chelsea residents to take part in RESTART Lives sleep out
RESTART Lives, based in Chelsea, is holding a sleep out on 6 December, which will see up to 80 people spend the night in potential sub-zero temperatures, experiencing a night in the life of many of the charity’s guests.
The group, including TV personality Gail Porter, and the charity’s founder Andrew Marshall, aims to raise £100,000 towards RESTART Lives’ work. Participants will be sponsored by friends, colleagues and other community members.
Rays of Sunshine raises £1mn with annual gala dinner
The event took place at Claridge’s hotel in Mayfair, and was sponsored by The Fragrance Shop – the charity’s longest-standing corporate partner, who were also celebrating their 30th anniversary. More than 180 supporters came together to celebrate Rays of Sunshine‘s work over the past 21 years.
TV personality Mark Wright hosted the night’s festivities, which included speeches from Stephen Allan, Rays of Sunshine’s co-founder and chairman, The Fragrance Shop founder and CEO, Sanjay Vadera, Dr Warren Hyer, the charity’s medical advisor, and trustee Jane Sharpe. Lewis Fuller, Britain’s Got Talent finalist and the world’s only singing illusionist took to the stage to kick off the evening. Fuller received a wish himself in 2009. Olly Murs, a Rays of Sunshine ambassador of more than a decade, closed the evening with a set filled with a selection of his hit songs, including Trouble Maker. The night also featured a diamond raffle, and an auction.
Action Against Hunger UK’s Fine Wine & Art Dinner raises over £300k
Action Against Hunger UK’s flagship fundraising event, the Fine Wine and Art Dinner, marked its 18th year on Saturday, 23 November. This year’s event raised over £300,000 to support the organisation’s work.
The evening was hosted by the award-winning TV chef and BBC’s Great British Menu presenter, Andi Oliver, and began with a Taittinger Champagne Reception, where nearly 200 guests enjoyed a selection of canapés by James Holden. A line-up of chefs showcased the best of the British culinary scene, including Max Coen (Dorian, Notting Hill), James Ferguson (Kinneuchar Inn, Fife), Sarah Hayward (The Coach, Marlow), James Holden (1 Lombard Street), and Ashley Palmer-Watts (The Devonshire, Soho). Each course was paired with wines curated by David Gleave, chairman of Liberty Wines. Guests also participated in live and silent auctions, while Action Against Hunger ambassador and Fine Wine and Art committee member Angela Hartnett made a pledge to support the organisation’s work, which raised almost £25,000.
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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.