Registered Children’s charity the Oakland Foundation, which supports children, young people and their families from Redditch, Bromsgrove and the surrounding areas, has raised over £8,000 at its inaugural Charity Ball, held at the National Motorcycle Museum on Friday 8th September.
The evening began with a powerful music selection performed by the Ipsley RSA Academy school choir. This was followed by a special guest appearance from Kriss Akabusi MBE, and performances by local singer/songwriter Sam Ostler and ABBA Tribute Band, Swede Dreamz.
Oakland Foundation Trustee, Hayley Smith, commented: “The Oakland Foundation Charity Ball was an amazing success, both in terms of raising much needed funds for the Foundation and for providing our guests with a brief insight into our work with local schools such as the Ipsley RSA Academy.
“Words are not enough to express our deepest thanks and appreciation for our kind and generous supporters, sponsors and donors, and to our guests, who have all helped make this possible. Our first event has been such a huge and resounding triumph; we couldn’t have done it without the support received and we hope individuals and companies are now inspired to get involved and support their local community and to explore how they can get involved by supporting the work of the Foundation.”
The Oakland Foundation was created by food distribution firm Oakland International and was officially launched in 2013 by Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal. To date, the Foundation has supported a diverse number of educational and youth projects based around health, nutrition, education and sport. It has worked with local schools and youth organisations providing activities and programmes that help to develop self-confidence, build new skills and generally inspire the next generation.
Kriss Akabusi MBE, commented: “Boom! What a brilliant night and a great opportunity for local businesses to let their hair down and raise money for such a fantastic children’s charity as the Oakland Foundation, which is doing such a brilliant job of working with local schools such as Ipsley RSA Academy; their choir was fantastic and rocked the house, a real testament to what can be done if we all just get involved.”
Children and young people from Redditch and Bromsgrove are now set to benefit from the proceeds of the Foundation’s Charity Ball. Sponsors included Starkey Electrical, Perfect Personnel, One Creative, Lorica, Barclays Bank and Oakland International.
For information on how you can get involved please call: 07964 001705 or email: enquiries@oakland-foundation.com. All proceeds from the event will go to support the work of the Oakland Foundation charity.