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Entrepreneurs raise thousands for hospice

Hippy chicks and cool cats from the world of business grooved the night away at the Entrepreneurs’ Forum charity ball at last Saturday. This year the Cool Cats Ball at the Hilton NewcastleGateshead raised around £60,000 for the Grace House North East Hospice Appeal.

300 entrepreneurs and their guests pulled out all the stops for the Sixties-themed night. Guests had the opportunity to be “papped” with a Lamborghini parked outside the hotel before walking the red carpet to the champagne reception, sponsored by Miller UK. During dinner, guests were entertained by the multi award-winning Shel Macrae, singer of Sixties band The Fortunes.

Previous balls have raised a total of around £200,000 for North East causes, and this year guests were equally generous. In a silent auction they outbid each other to claim an LA Galaxy shirt signed by David Beckham and a new Apple iPhone, while the main auction was also a fierce battleground.

Auctioneer John Anderson of Anderson Garland found himself in the middle of a bidding war for the top prize of the evening - use of a private jet for the weekend to any continental destination. The money raised will go towards Grace House’s appeal to build a hospice in Sunderland.

Kathy Secker, Patron of Grace House, who attended the Cool Cats Ball, said: “For the Grace House North East children’s hospice appeal the involvement of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum creates a new dimension of personal and corporate giving. We are delighted to become a part of this network and profoundly grateful to the Entrepreneurs’ Forum for this opportunity to be heard in such distinguished and successful company. Support such as this is crucial to the sustainability of the charity.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .