£25,000+ raised for Autism Guernsey

Sunday 28 October 2018

Now the hangovers have abated, the costumes have been packed away, and all of the money counted, it's been confirmed that the Día de los Muertos charity ball raised tens of thousands of pounds for charity, with more to come in.

Organised by Claire Wakefield and Nadia Newton, the event, held at Beau Sejour last weekend, is one of a series of charitable balls they've run - with hints of another to come next year.

This year's event was themed on the two day Mexican festival, which is a celebration of both life and death.

Ms Newton and Ms Wakefield said they were determined to completely transform the Dave Ferguson Hall at the island's leisure centre and they succeeded to great effect with the help of The Potting Shed Design which created a bright, vibrant street fiesta.

Pictured: One of the performers at the Día de los Muertos charity ball. 

430 guests who had booked tickets were invited to 'Party as if it’s your last Day on Earth!'

Those guests were treated to music by world famous band The Mariachis and local talent Last of the Light Brigade with dance acts by the Senior Avril Earl Group and Performers Jersey alongside fire and LED performances from FireFX. Everyone was kept entertained and well refreshed with themed drinks and food on offer. 

Pictured: One of the performers at the Día de los Muertos charity ball. 

Ms Wakefield said the evening which had taken them almost a year to plan, had exceeded their expectations.

“Nadia and I try to bring something new to Guernsey and put on an evening for our guests to truly remember whilst raising valuable funds for charity. This year our chosen charity was Autism Guernsey who will benefit from 100% of the funds raised on the night thanks to the support of our main sponsors Agilisys and of course the amazing generosity of our guests."

Pictured: The Mariachis.

With all of the money going to Autism Guernsey the intention was to raise as much money as possible, with a 'pledge card' initiative also introduced to ensure the money keeps rolling in throughout the year. 

"We smashed our target and raised an incredible £25,000 at the event, a sum which we hope will be increased over the next year due to a “pledge card” initiative, which was the brain child of Richard Hanrahan of Agilisys," said Ms Wakefield.

"Guests were asked to commit to do something to raise funds for, or support Autism Guernsey over the next year. These came back in many forms, from running a marathon, to baking cakes, to giving a day of their time or even providing free horse riding lessons for an Autistic child. We hope these pledges will mean that the event itself has increased awareness and provided a base for lots more funds to be raised for Autism Guernsey in the future.”

Pictured above and top: Images from the event courtesy of Evoke.