Swindon’s business community has raised more than £10,700 for Wiltshire Air Ambulance at a charity ball organised by law firm Withy King, Barclays Bank and Excalibur Communications.
The black-tie event’s fund-raising activities, which included a charity auction and raffle, were compered by former England and Bath rugby player turned TV pundit and columnist David “Flats” Flatman – with the most popular auction lot a Porsche driving experience at Silverstone donated by Porsche Centre Swindon, which raised £520.
Other lots included tickets to high-profile sporting events, a helicopter ride, an overnight stay at a five-star hotel in London – and the hire of a skip for a week!
Prizes donated by local businesses were also up for grabs in the raffle and activities and games on the night further boosted the fund-raising.
Held at the Alexandra House Hotel in Wroughton, the event was attended by 130 people and included a drinks reception, three-course dinner and dancing to live music from Paradox.
Wiltshire Air Ambulance fundraising manager Rebecca de la Bedoyere said: “We are absolutely thrilled by the success of the charity ball. It was a fantastic night from start to finish, and all the guests rose to the occasion and dug deep in support of Wiltshire Air Ambulance.
“The teams from Withy King, Barclays and Excalibur worked incredibly hard to ensure that everything was meticulously planned, and we are so grateful to them for their support. Every penny raised will help us to save lives across Wiltshire and surrounding counties, and we’d like to thank all the organisations and individuals who helped by sponsoring the event, purchasing tickets and offering such superb auction and raffle prizes.”
Wiltshire Air Ambulance relies on public funding to provide a helicopter emergency medical service to anyone who lives, works and travels in Wiltshire. It needs £6,850 a day just to keep flying.
Pictured, from left: Ryan Thomas from Barclays, Greg Callard from Withy King, Rebecca de la Bedoyere, fundraising manager at WAA, David ‘Flats’ Flatman, and Chris Elias from Barclays
