Little Luna’s big afternoon for charity

It was time for tea at Sunderland Empire as the historic venue threw its doors open for a special charity event.

Luna Petrucci, four, from Ashbrooke was the guest of honour at an afternoon tea held at the theatre in aid of RedSkyBallfortheChildren’s Heart Unit Fund (Chuf ).

The Empire chose the cause as its charity of the year after being touched by Luna’s battle for survival.

Two years ago, the youngster underwent a lifesaving operation at the Children’s Heart Unit, based at the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle.

Since her successful recovery, her parents Emma and Sergio Petrucci have established Red Sky Ball and raised more than £110,000 in under 18 months, while continuingtogenerateawareness and donations for the unit.

As part of its series of fundraising events for the charity, the Empire hosted a 1920’s-themed afternoon.

The rare opportunity to take part in the traditional tea in the recently-renovated Dress Circle bar proved so popular that a second sitting was added to meet demand.

Luna’s dad Sergio said: “We are overwhelmed by the turnout at the Sunderland Empire.

“People who didn’t know us personally, but had heard of the Red Sky journey, came along to support us as we continue to achieve our goals to help buy much-needed machinery to make the lives of children with heart problems that little bit easier.

“I’d like to thank the staff attheEmpireandforputting the afternoon tea together, but also for creating a great experience for our guests, and also to all of our commercial partners, it makes such a difference.”

Theatre staff volunteered their time for the event and a range of raffle prizes were provided by businesses including the Bridges, Hilton Garden Inn, Sunderland Marriott Hotel, Morrisons, Ramside Hall, SAFC and The Funky Indian, ensuring all money raised was donated to the charity.

One poignant donation was from Emma Garside, of local company Em & Dy’s Cakes. Emma underwent heart surgery when she was three years old and was delighted to be able to support the event to raise funds for Chuf.