In a night filled with fundraising, glamour, and entertainment, an annual charity ball managed to raise a stunning £25,000.
The Millie Wright Children’s Charity Winter Ball brought together over 250 guests, made up of volunteers, trustees, NHS staff, patients, families and supporters.
Pulling out all the stops, the night to remember was hosted by TV presenter Amy Garcia and supported by Olympic and Commonwealth champion Nile Wilson.
It was directed by Anna Ma-aye and held on Saturday 23 November at York Racecourse.
The black-tie event was the third of its kind and featured a three-course dinner, a live auction, a raffle, and lots of dancing to York’s very own 80’s band Spectrum.
This year also included a mesmerising silver star awarded table magician and two spectacular butterfly stilt-walkers.
Olympian and Charity Patron, Nile Wilson, said how much he enjoyed the evening:
“What a fabulous night. I’m so honoured to be the Patron of this inspiring charity. The money raised at Millie’s Winter Ball will make such a difference to so many children and to so many families at Leeds Children’s Hospital. Thank you to everyone for getting behind us and raising a staggering £25,000.”
The Millie Wright Children’s Charity was established in May 2022 by Ceri and Nigel Wright, in memory of their daughter Millie.
Based at Leeds Children’s Hospital, the initiative exists to address the inequalities in hands-on charitable support for families of children with life threatening conditions.
It provides practical, emotional, mental health and wellbeing support for children and their families throughout their stay in hospital.
The money raised from the evening will go directly into towards funding practical, emotional, and financial support for the families in need, as well as into the charities initiatives such as the #feedtheparents scheme.
This provides pizza for supper every Saturday and ensures the parent kitchens are always stocked with fruit and snacks.
The charity also supports the activities of the hospital play team, bringing much needed normality to the lives of these, often long-stay, parents.
Ceri Wright, Co-Founder of The Millie Wright Children’s Charity, said:
“£25,000 is amazing, we are so grateful to all our volunteers and donors. An event like this would not happen without those individuals giving up their time, skills and items to auction and raffle and we are so thankful for them.
“The money raised will go towards employing a second Family Support Worker and funding some community based projects to provide much needed help and support for parents.”
For more information on the charity, and to keep up with future events, head to The Millie Wright Children’s Charity website here.