Peter Andre, Olly Murs and Alexandra Burke were among the guests at a glamorous charity ball in London last night which raised £1,536,630 for the national charity, Caudwell Children.
The charity, which provides practical and emotional support for disabled children and their families, hosted their annual Butterfly Ball, sponsored by Byrne Group, at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane and over 700 guests enjoyed a glamorous evening of entertainment and fundraising.
The evening featured musical performances by former M People front women Heather Small, one of the seminal voices of the 1990s, Alexandra Burke, the X Factor winner, Strictly Come Dancing finalists and West End musical star, and culminated in an exclusive set by one of the UKs most loved pop-stars and TV personalities, Olly Murs.
In the audience supporting the event were a host of celebrities, including Lady Wilnelia Forsyth; the singer, actress and television personality, Michelle Heaton; singer and reality star, Jake Quickenden; Dragons Den star, Duncan Bannatyne and Made in Chelsea star, Georgia Toffolo.
The evening’s exclusive auction, which was hosted by renowned charity auctioneer, Charlie Ross, raised an amazing £900,000 for the charity founded by the entrepreneur and philanthropist, John Caudwell.
Lots on offer in the exclusive auction included, amongst others, a Damien Hirst foil block butterfly print, numbered 6 in an edition of 14, A Formula 1 package to attend the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on an exclusive 125ft party yacht, with a private performance from Craig David, and a week on John Caudwell’s superyacht, Titania, which is equipped with an aqua park, sauna, pool, gym and bar!
Proceeds from the event will be used to transform the lives of disabled children living in the UK through a range of services. Since 2000 the charity has provided over £39million worth of support to over 35,000 children, with over 600 medical conditions, across the UK.
Charity Chief Executive, Trudi Beswick, said: “We are delighted at the overwhelming support we received from all of our guests here this evening. This money is more important than ever as the demand for our support increases.
“This is a huge year for the charity as we are shortly moving to our new, state of the art headquarters, the Caudwell International Children’s Centre. This will be the first purpose built facility dedicated to providing multi-disciplinary assessment, support and research of neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism.
“The money from this evening’s event will enable us to touch the lives of thousands of disabled children. I can’t thank everyone who donated tonight enough.”
For more information about Caudwell Children visit: www.caudwellchildren.com.
