Oh what a night!

Local children’s charity, the Children’s Adventure Farm Trust, held their 16th Annual Ball at The Mere on Saturday 7th December and raised over £100,000 on the night thanks to their fantastic supporters.

The charity’s Patrons Lee Boardman, Jennifer James, Dame Sarah Storey and Barney Storey joined the esteemed list of guests for a night of fun and fundraising. The evening was sponsored by Thermotech Fire Protection Ltd who attended on the night. They joined guests in a sparkling drinks reception and were welcomed by the charity’s staff and volunteers dressed in Motown themed little black dresses.

Patron Jennifer James officially welcomed guests to the Ball before making a special presentation to CAFT Chairman Nick Montague, celebrating 20 years as a Trustee of the charity. Host Andy Ashworth then had guests singing at the top of their voices and up on their feet with a fun, and very interactive rendition, of The Twelve Days of Christmas.

After a delicious four course meal guests were invited to join in the fundraising with a Grand Auction and special raffles including some unique and jaw-dropping prizes – including magnificent holidays to Mauritius, Grenada and the Maldives, a trip on the Northern Belle to the Ladies Quarter Finals Day at Wimbledon and VIP tickets to see Gary Barlow! The charity’s signature Chocolate Box Raffle had a festive twist with guests being invited to buy a Christmas stocking full of beautiful chocolates.

Two lucky guests were rewarded with more than chocolate as they won amazing prizes for finding a special ticket hidden within their stocking. The holder of the silver ticket went away with a luxury chocolate hamper donated by Hotel Chocolat, but the gold ticket winner went one better and left with over £1,000 worth of jewellery donated by Randalls of Altrincham. Martin Duff from Randalls was there on the night to present the winner with her prize.

The charity also launched their new video and brochure which has been funded by one of their supporters, The Redwing Trust. The video stars Patron Lee Boardman who followed the launch of the video with a moving speech. He then asked the assembled guests to pledge to sponsor a child or group of children for 2014, raising a phenomenal £60,000!! Events fundraiser Pippa Watton comments: “We really can’t thank our supporters enough for everything they continue to do for us. This has been a fabulous evening and we’ve been blown away by their generosity. Everyone had a fantastic time whilst raising vital funds for our charity. The money we have raised tonight will change the lives of countless children in 2014.”

For further information about future events or to enquire about the work of the Adventure Farm, call the Fundraising Team on 01565 830 053, or visit their website www.caft.co.uk