Joseph Foote Trust Annual Charity Ball raises over £110,000 to fund research into children’s brain cancers
Monday, March 15, 2010 at 8:58AM The 11th Fundraising Ball for the Joseph Foote Trust was held on Saturday 6th March at the Hilton Metropole Hotel in Birmingham. The Annual Ball raised an astonishing £112,085 which will go towards funding research into brain tumours affecting children all across the UK and the world.
The event is organised by Andy and Judy Foote whose young son Joseph sadly succumbed to the terrible disease in 2007 after a brave fight. Instead of losing heart, Andy and Judy vowed to continue to fundraise in his name with every penny going towards finding a cure.
The 850 guests at Saturday’s glittering event were entertained by compere Jimmy Franks from BBC Radio WM. They also enjoyed a special performance from Britain’s Got Talent star, saxophonist Julian Smith and one of the country’s top Michael Jackson tribute acts, Glenn Jackson.
One of the highlights of the evening was the Charity Auction with lots including VIP tickets to concerts and sporting events, signed memorabilia, holidays to America, Italy and Marbella and a fabulous package of 18 days in South Africa to watch the early stages of England’s World Cup campaign, which raised £11,000. Overall the Auction, conducted by William Soubry ,‘the Roving Auctioneer’, raised over £75,000.
There were moving and inspiring speeches from both Andy and Judy Foote, plus words from Professor Richard Grundy who heads up the research funded by the Trust. He spoke of how brain tumours have become the leading cause of cancer related death in children, with over half as many again as leukaemia. The major advances which have been achieved through his research are the better management of childhood cancers and a detailed study of how children respond differently to treatments, ensuring the best possible care can be provided in each individual case. He said ‘Every paper we publish is an acknowledgement of all the money raised (by the Joseph Foote Trust) and the efforts and generosity of all involved ensures the UK stays at the forefront of research into children’s brain tumours’.
The evening was rounded off with the excitement of the Big Car Raffle where one lucky guest had the opportunity to win a brand new Mini, kindly donated by Sytners BMW Solihull. The amazed winner was Joanne Hancock from Sutton Coldfield who looked like she couldn’t quite believe she’d won!
Andy Foote said ‘I am always so amazed and inspired by the level of support we receive year on year and it gives me great comfort to know that Joseph is still in everyone’s hearts and minds. The money we raise goes towards vital work where we can contribute ‘bricks’ to the wall being built to fight brain tumours and Professor Grundy will continue to strive to find the final golden brick, being a cure. I’d like to thank everyone for their generosity on Saturday and I’m sure they all had a fantastic time’.
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