We’re having a ball – a virtual ball!

October 11th 2019 saw the Charlie Gard Foundation’s very first annual ball. Themed to The Greatest Showman we hosted a truly visual feast of performances, music and entertainment at the iconic Roundhouse in Camden, London where we raised over £30,000 for the charity. It was a magnificent evening and fun was had by all and we simply couldn’t wait to get planning for 2020 where we would deliver yet another fantastical evening of entertainment and fundraising.

However, as we were making plans for our next ball a change across the world was happening as Covid-19 crept into all our lives causing disruption and devastation on an international level. Events were cancelled and the charity sector came to a halt almost overnight. 2020 has been an incredibly challenging year for the charity sector, and for people everywhere, but we refused to be beaten and adapted to the change in situation and began hosting events that were more suited to social media and online supporters.

We did, however, wonder how we could possibly hold a large, successful event during such difficult times, and not only that, but how could we hold an event that people would enjoy and want to be a part of to raise spirits if nothing else.

It was a difficult one but thanks to the fantastic team at D&G who also adapted and embraced a world of change we were able to plan and create our very first virtual ball! And for the first time ever we’re able to extend our ball invites across the pond to our many international supporters too and they don’t need to worry about flights and accommodation as they can be a part of our amazing evening from the comfort of their own home! So the pandemic did close many doors for us as a charity but we simply looked for new doors to open and we hope that this special event will not only raise vital funds for our charity but give people a truly wonderful evening of uplifting entertainment during such difficult and challenging times.

As many of you will most likely have never been to a virtual ball before (we certainly haven’t!) you’re probably wondering what it’s all about, and rightly so. The best way to describe the evening would be an evening packed with entertainment, music, comedy, raffles, fundraising, charity projects and updates, interviews, auctions and much more. The evening will run very much the same as a Children in Need or Red Nose Day event (and we are very much looking for audience participation on the evening too!), but the difference being that we will encourage you to throw on your glad rags for the best night in of the year! You may not be going to the ball, but we’ll certainly bring the ball to you!

So we hope you’ll grab your tickets early, pop the date in the diary and look forward to spending a spectacular evening in with friends and/or family (all Covid rules adhered to of course) and join us all for a wonderful event as we put the fun into fundraising and continue to work for a brighter mito future because mito matters.

We are also looking for people to be involved on the night. So if you don’t mind being in front of the camera, and are up for a bit of fun, do get in touch to find out more. Please email stephanie@thecharliegardfoundation.org to register your interest.

You can visit our dedicated website, buy tickets or join our Facebook event page via our buttons below.