Sunflower Ball a night to savour

The BBC’S Anna Foster speaking to guests

HI Sunshine News Readers,

After months of planning, our Sunflower Ball finally took place last Friday at The Grand Hotel, Gosforth Park, and what a night it was! It was an evening to remember and we felt that the evening showcased everything that The Sunshine Fund stands for, and we felt so proud to be able to show our guests just a few snippets of what our small charity has accomplished in its 95 years.

We are pleased to announce that the event raised almost £20,000! These are such important funds which will support children and families in our region, allowing us to continue to fund life-changing equipment to babies, children and young adults living with disabilities, additional needs and terminal illness.

Firstly, we would like to thank Jane Heath and her fantastic team at The Grand for providing the venue, and for their ongoing support. We’d like to thank Anna and her team at Aura events for dressing the room and creating a beautiful setting with sunflowerthemed table centrepieces and a stunning flower wall. We’d like to thank Chris, Sara and the team at Storm for providing AV, and for providing live music later in the night.

Guests were welcomed to a drinks reception which was accompanied by music from local string quartet, Andrelli, who are based in Whitley Bay.

The evening was sponsored by our long-term supporters at Eldon Square, who have been a huge help in organising this event. We heard from Cormac Hamilton whose speech captured everything our charity stands for.

We also heard from our Chair of Trustees, Helen Dalby, as well as our previous chair, Martin Solomon, who was in post for 25 years.

At The Sunshine Fund, we believe every child deserves the same opportunities, and it’s our mission to break barriers to allow children to thrive and reach their full potential. To prove exactly what we mean by that, we were

treated to a phenomenal performance by Danceversity; a local community group ran by Asha Thomas. We were so proud of each and every child who got up on that dance floor and put their full energy into the performance. I think I speak for everybody who attended when I say that this was the highlight of the night. And thank you to Total Sports NE for donating the specially made t-shirts just for the event!

BBC’S Anna Foster returned to host the night and was a delight as always – we’re so grateful for her continued support over the years. Anna spoke to several families who joined us on the night, so they could share their own stories with the crowd.

The evening was captured beautifully by our friends at The Bigger Picture. We’d like to thank Katherine’s Florists for providing the beautiful yellow roses, and to One Management Services who donated several prizes for our auction.

We’d also like to thank all those who donated prizes: MU, Waldorf Astoria London, Durham Distillery, Hotel Indigo Durham, Coho Durham, The Grand Hotel, Newcastle Falcons, Northumberland Golf Club, Poachers Cottage, Centre For Life, Pizza Punks, Northern Stage, Tynemouth Aquarium, Namco Funscape Metrocentre, Junkyard Golf, As You Like It, Point Blank Shooting Newcastle, Eldon Square, Wagamama, The Purple Peacock, 3Sixty, Hay & Kilner, Novaquartz UK, Hooker & Young, Pink Gem Holistics, NE Youth, Sunderland Empire, Maldron Hotel, Cake Stories Jesmond, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, Vibe Tribe UK, and CBK Adventures.

Lastly, but certainly not least, we would like to thank our trusty team of loyal volunteers.

You can see all photos from the ball on our Facebook, and keep an eye out for our video which will go live n e x t week!

Thanks for reading,