MORE than 200 members of the business community in Aberdeen and local volunteers attended a birthday ball organised by charity Befriend a Child at the weekend, raising more than £53,000 for disadvantaged children in the North-east.
The funding will support the charity’s core befriending and mentoring services, currently used by around 300 children and their families who are dealing with issues including drug abuse, illness and neglect across Aberdeen City and Shire.
The black-tie event, sponsored by Nexen, at Ardoe House Hotel on Friday (February 23) featured a children’s birthday party theme to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the charity’s popular ‘Big Kids’ Ball’.
The money was raised by raffle tickets and auction prizes which included the chance to travel in Aberdeen Football Club’s team bus, a range of luxury getaways and a gent’s TW Steel watch from Finnies The Jewellers.
Richard Stewart, head of fundraising at Befriend a Child said: “We are completely overwhelmed by the generosity shown by our guests over the weekend, it really demonstrates just how important the charity is to people across the region.
“The ball was a fantastic event and it was great to see so many of our supporters, partners, volunteers and friends of the charity coming together for the cause and we’d like to thank each of them for making the event such a success.
“This year we raised over £53,000 which will be invested directly into the charity and go towards providing lifeline services to children who need them most.It’s enough to fully fund 23 new befriending relationships for a year.
“Another way to measure the impact of the Ball is to consider that Befriend a Child turns every £1.00 we receive into benefits worth £6.13 for local children, so this amount enables us to make an impact worth over £300,000 and that is awesome.
“We can’t thank each of our sponsors involved in the event enough - Nexen, 8020, BIG Partnership and J Thomson Print, whose support is invaluable.”
Ray Riddoch, UK managing director and senior vice president Europe at Nexen said, “The ball was a great event for a very worthwhile cause which Nexen is proud to support. Nexen shares Befriend a Child’s desire to build confidence and resilience in young people and the funds raised will make a tangible difference to disadvantaged and troubled youths in our community.”
Befriend a Child provides support to disadvantaged and troubled school-aged children and young people growing up in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. The charity delivers one-to-one befriending and mentoring services.
For more information about the charity please visit: https://www.befriendachild.org.uk/