Dancefloor Challenge raises £12,000+

Sunday 09 September 2018

This year’s ABN AMRO Dancefloor Challenge raised more than £12,000, which will be split between Headway Guernsey and the Guernsey Amateur Dancesport Association (GADA).

The annual event, which sees local personalities dance with some of Guernsey’s best ballroom dancers, involved 14 stars from local TV, radio and businesses.

Laura Tardiff from Louvre Fund Services and her partner Marc Griffiths were crowned overall winners of this year’s event.

Organiser Jamie Le Tissier said the total raised this year means approximately £130,000 has been raised since the Dancefloor Challenge started 12 years ago.

"The annual event is going from strength to strength. Credit goes to the participants for taking up the challenge, learning a new skill and putting in hours of work to create an entertaining show for the audience, whilst raising a significant amount of money for charity," he said.

Philippa Stahelin, Executive Director at Headway Guernsey, was delighted to be asked to take part in the event and represent the charity. 

"We are so grateful to ABN AMRO for the £6,500 donation from the Dancefloor Challenge. The funds will go towards developing our outreach programme, where we help new members with strategies and skills to enable them to live as independent a life as possible," she said.

"The funds will also help run our family support programme, where family members can be helped as they come to terms with and deal with their new life post brain injury. It’s so important to raise awareness of our service and the needs of islanders who are living with the effects of serious brain injury."

Additionally, Lesley Le Tissier, Chairperson of the GADA, said they relied on the funds each year to keep going. It is used to pay rent and also bring professional teachers and examiners over from the UK.

"Without the contribution from the event, we would need to raise membership and class costs considerably to get by," she said.