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Appeal hits £20m at glittering event
Fri 23rd Oct 09 - 16:59
The New Children's Hospital Appeal announced in the early hours of this morning that it had reached its £20m target. Appeal chairman Maurice Watkins made the announcement at Notte Bella: Il Finito, a gala dinner at the Hilton Manchester Deansgate, sponsored by ANS Group.
The announcement was the culmination of a glittering evening that included entertainment from chart-toppers JLS, City Life comedian of the year John Warburton and a surprise appearance from Stavros Flatley, finalist on ‘Britain's Got Talent'.
Guests at the event included long-standing supporters of the Appeal, celebrities and business people from all over North West England. Appeal patrons Julie and Philip Neville, Tupele Dorgu and Jason Done attended the event, along with long-time supporters Sir Bobby Charlton, Theo Paphitis, Natasha Hamilton, Emma Rigby, Ashley Taylor-Dawson, Cole Page and Shayne Ward.
A "money can't buy" auction run by Adam Partridge of TV's ‘Bargain Hunt' and ‘Flog It!' helped to push the Appeal to its £20m target with lots including a shirt signed by Usain Bolt, a shopping package from Harrods which included a Mulberry handbag and tickets to the X-Factor Live tour including meeting the stars of the show.
Appeal Chairman Maurice Watkins said:
"I'm delighted to announce that we have hit our target of £20m. When we launched the Appeal three years ago £20m was an ambitious target, which appeared even more challenging in the light of the economic storms that have hit us since we began our work. It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of all our supporters - individuals, businesses and public sector partners - that we can make this announcement as the Appeal comes to a close."
"I hope everyone takes great pride in the wonderful facility we have all helped to create at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital."
Fundraising for the Appeal began in May 2006 and its partnership with Bob the BuilderTM was launched later that month with the first Bob's Balloon race. Since the Appeal launched, there have been many events and efforts by individuals and organisations to raise funds. Members of the local community took the Appeal to their heart with pubs, church groups, bingo players, school children and neighbours all working together to raise funds.
The Appeal was the official charity partner of the Great Manchester Run from 2007-2009. Both the city's football teams - Manchester City and Manchester United - worked to support the Appeal as did many of the region's leading businesses including Bruntwood, Bovis, Peel Holdings and many small companies through the Many Hands campaign.
Funds raised by the Appeal are being used to provide facilities in addition to the medical care provided by the NHS. Resources include things like pull-down beds on each ward so that parents can stay close to their children while they are in hospital and specialist equipment which improves the diagnosis and treatment of the young patients.
Scott Fletcher, Chairman of sponsor ANS Group commented:
"As a father myself, I know how important it is that top quality facilities like the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital exist and I am very proud to have been able to contribute to this project. The hospital will have a lasting effect on many people's lives and has set the bar for other city's to aspire to."