Wigan And Leigh Hospice 40th Anniversary Ball
A Fantastic Evening In Support Of One Of Our Favourite Local Charities
It’s only a few days until December and the first event of our festive calendar was the 40th Anniversary Ball arranged by Wigan and Leigh Hospice, a fantastic local institution and one of our favourite local good causes.
Hosted at the prestigious conferencing and banqueting suites at Wigan Athletic’s DW Stadium, the stage was set for a fantastic evening attended by the who’s who of local businesses and organisations.
Ball gowns and smart suits were the attire of choice for the glamourous guest as they arrived at the South Stand and took to their tables, Team Westood was, as would be expected, well represented and we occupied two tables, located right next to the bar. Also as expected!
With a drink on arrival, we were immediately entertained by some truly talented performers before the three course feast started to arrive. With raffles, games, a silent auction and opportunities to donate, the evening was lavish, but with an underlying purpose; to raise much needed funds for the wonderful Hospice.
We all have a time to leave this world and some leave a little sooner than others. Towards the end of the time we’ve been granted, especially if that time has been shortened by conditions or illnesses, that time becomes that much more precious and the need to make the most of every minute that bit more pressing.
Making the most of that time is at the core of what Wigan And Leigh Hospice do. And they do it so beautifully. End of life care and palliative care, while being accurate descriptions of the work of this charity, don’t really do justice to how they go about looking after not only those approaching their last days, months and years, but also the families, friends and loved ones who are facing that time with them and who’ll be left behind afterwards.
Such an essential service, believe it or not, exists largely through donations and local funding. So as Wigan and Leigh Hospice celebrates their 40th year of making so many thousands of people’s last days better, more comfortable and more dignified, the continual need to ensure they can continue to exist falls to local supporters to get behind them. The annual ball being only one such opportunity to do so.
WIth wonderful entertainment broken up by poignant speeches from the Wigan and Leigh Hospice team, this fantastic evening was also a massively successful one. The stated goal of the Wigan And Leigh Hospice 40th Anniversary Ball was to raise £30,000 in order to keep doing the wonderful work they do and we’re delighted to report that they not only hit this target, but smashed it, raising around £45,000 thanks to the goodwill and generosity of the attendees, sponsors and prize donators.
The very first winner of the evening was our very own Jason Bennett who was called up the centre of the ballroom to receive the prize of…. his own driving licence which he’d dropped earlier…. he’s going to need that! Our very own Kegan Brown came up lucky in the raffle and won a signed Wigan Warriors shirt, to his absolute delight. Other prizes from the raffle and silent auction were many and varied, all contributing to help the hospice achieve a truly fantastic result for the evening.
The partying went in into the small hours and while Team Westwood fully engaged wth the revelry, there were one or two who definitely felt the after effects the following day!
Our heartfelt thanks go to Wigan and Leigh Hospice for being such wonderful hosts for the evening and our congratulations for managing to raise such a spectacular amount in support of their work.
If you’d like to join in, to donate or to get involved, click https://www.wlh.org.uk/ to find out more about their work.
