The University of Cambridge's Catering Managers’ Committee (CMC) are celebrating after their Biennial Charity Ball, held at Churchill College earlier this year, successfully raised £13,778.43 for local charities Head To Toe and East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) who will both receive a donation of £6,889.21.

The Charity Ball has now become a focal point of the College catering teams’ calendar which is very much looked forward to by all attending. It is held every two years. Guests at this fundraising event took part in a charity auction and raffle as well as enjoying entertainment from artists Russell Shaun and Bandit. A casino hosted by Churchill College was also provided.

Lee Corke, Chair of the CMC Charity Ball Committee and Imogen Jackaman, Conference & Events Co-ordinator from Magdalene College, presented the charities with their cheques at Clare College.

Lee Corke said “This event was only possible due to the hard work and commitment of the Charity Ball Committee. We would like to thank the England National Culinary Team, Churchill College catering team and local students from the Cambridge Regional College for the outstanding catering they provided on the night. We would also like to thank all those who kindly donated auction lots and raffle prizes which helped to make the evening such a success. The Charity Ball Committee have now raised over sixty thousand pounds for local charities over the last eight years and we are starting to look at a venue within the Colleges for our next event in 2020.”

Imogen Jackaman added that “We are very excited to have been able to contribute such an amazing amount to two extremely worthwhile charities and I would like to thank everyone who was involved in the organisation of the Ball and everyone who attended the night for their time, effort and generous donations which are massively appreciated by the selected charities. It was an absolute pleasure to have been involved in the organisation of this brilliant event.”

Clare Jones, Charity Manager for Head To Toe, the charity for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust which provides community and mental health services said “We can’t thank the University Of Cambridge’s Catering Managers’ Committee and organisers of the Charity Ball enough for such an incredible contribution towards our work supporting local people caring for loved ones with dementia. It allows us to reach even more carers across the county and to provide peer support and social activities that make a huge difference to their mental and physical wellbeing.”

Polly West, Community Fundraiser from East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices said “EACH were absolutely thrilled to have been chosen to be part of the evening of such fantastic food and entertainment. The incredible sum of money we have received from the ball will go towards the care of children with life-threatening illnesses across Cambridgeshire, and support for their families.”

Cheque presentation took place at Clare College. Image features from left to right: Polly West, East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, Imogen Jackaman, Conference & Events Co-ordinator, Magdalene College, Lily Bacon, East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, Lee Corke, Chair of the CMC Charity Ball Committee, Sally Kitchin, Head To Toe, Ena Hendry, Head To Toe, Kit Connick, Head To Toe and Fe Franklin, Head To Toe.

To find out more about Head To Toe and how to support this charity, please visit http://www.cpft.nhs.uk/HeadtoToe/.

To find out more about EACH and how to get involved in their work, please visit https://www.each.org.uk/.