April 27th saw our fantastic partners Hilton Hotel Cambridge City Centre set the scene, as we held our first Black Tie Ball!
A wonderful gala evening was held, centred around a delightful 3 course meal with live music from the exceptional Vicky Jackson, taking to the stage as “Pink”. The evening was complimented by a silent auction, which saw so many brilliant offerings from organisations and individuals alike to create a fantastic variety.
The evening was not only magical to be part of, surrounded by wonderful people but over £7000 was raised on the night towards our projects and work with families of children with Autism, additional needs and disabilities, with which we can achieve so much. This enables us to continue to provide more and more events, support and create opportunities the children we support would not normally get the chance to experience, have sufficient support to do so, or do so alongside other families truly understanding of their situation.
The Hilton Hotel Cambridge City Centre also stunned us with a donation of over £2900, courtesy of their own teams hard work behind the scenes to support us, which left us a little lost for words.
Our Silent Auction was headlined by Ben Chilwell and Hilton Hotel Cambridge City Centre. Ben, (Leicester City FC and England), incredibly kindly donated us his match worn England shirt, also signed by fellow England players: Ben Chilwell, Deli Alli, Jadon Sancho, Harry Maguire, Jordon Henderson, Harry Kane, Jordon Pickford, Kyle Walker. Eric Dier, Raheem Sterling, Kieran Trippier, James Ward-Prowse, Michael Keane & James Tarkowski.
The Hilton Hotel Cambridge City Centre provided a stunning 3 day stay at their beautiful Hotel Vilamoura location, with six large pools, cascading waterfalls and spa set in the Algarve, which was also truly incredible.
We are humbled to see such other, items donated to us such as a stay at the magnificent University Arms in Cambridge, visit to The Shard followed by a meal at Marco Pierre Whites, signed memorabilia from Little Mix and Olly Murs, a signed book from the fantastic David Walliams, Afternoon Tea at Carriages, theatre tickets, pantomime tickets, chocolate collections, wine hampers, family activities and much, much more.
The support didn’t end there though. Our 2020 Black Tie Ball opened for booking a couple of days and sold out instantly, over a year in advance! So we now look forward to another memorable night on May 16th 2020, amongst fantastic company once more.
It is really hard to put into words, the kindness and generosity that we have seen from the local community and businesses as well as further across the UK. It is also equally as hard to put into words how truly grateful we are for this. Our thanks go out to everyone involved in this evening for making it such an incredible night, a beautiful memory to look back on and an exciting future.
Thank You!
This evening wouldn’t have been possible without the fantastic support of the following individuals and organisations:
Spectrum is a multi-award winning, parent-led charity, providing events and support for families of children with Autism, additional needs, learning difficulties and disabilities. We are family-focused, passionate about inclusion and supporting Special Education Needs & Disabilities (SEND).
