BOB’S MASQUERADE CHARITY BALL SETS FUNDRAISING RECORD

Band of Builders hosted its most successful annual charity fundraising ball and auction ever – raising £40,000 for our charity.

More than 300 people attended our Masquerade Charity Ball, which was held at the Villa Park football stadium in Birmingham on Friday 6th October 2023.

There was a great mix of volunteers, supporters, corporate sponsors, well-wishers, beneficiaries and businesses from across the construction industry, who all came together not only to enjoy a wonderful evening but also to celebrate our achievements and to raise much-needed funds so that we can keep helping people in the construction industry who are battling illness or injury by making a life-changing difference to them and their families.

There was a drinks reception, followed by a three-course meal, masquerade-themed entertainment, a live auction and raffles, casino tables, and a dancefloor that was always full.

The MC for the evening was comedian Hal Cruttenden – who did his best to keep proceedings on track in front of a lively crowd. As well as doing a bit of his stand-up routine, Hal MCed the live auction and also hosted the awards section of the evening, where we recognised the achievements of those who have gone above and beyond to support our charity.

Awards

There were five awards given out on the night:

• Individual Fundraiser of the Year (which was sponsored by Talasey) – this went to Chris Iddles and Liam McNeil, who completed the Land’s End to John O’Groats route on their bikes.
• Team Fundraiser of the Year (which was sponsored by CT1) – this recognised the efforts of all the volunteers who took part in this year’s Three Peaks Challenge – completing the ascents of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) within 24 hours.
• Corporate Fundraiser of the Year (which was sponsored by Wilson Brook) – this went to Jewson for its dragon boat race tournament, which saw 15 teams competing in a series of races on Draycote Water, near Rugby.
• Outstanding Contribution to Projects – sadly, Tony Everitt could not attend to pick up his award, which recognised his contributions to projects and his role as one of the project leads on Luke Goold-Hannatt’s project this summer.
• The Keith Ellick Award – this is our most iconic and treasured award because it’s voted for by our volunteers. Trustee and volunteer Tim Height was the deserved recipient for his involvement in a raft of projects and being on the BoB stand at trade shows.

As well as the BoB awards, there was also the formal presentation of the Corporate Partnership of the Year (Small) Award to Jewson, which we won last month at the Third Sector Awards in London.

“The best charity ball yet”

The BoB Events Team of Louise Stevenson, Richard Croft and Tony Steel were also invited onto the stage to receive gifts as a thank you for organising what was another fantastic event.

Speaking on behalf of the Events Team, Lou said all the feedback from those who attended suggested that it was the best charity ball yet that Band of Builders has hosted.

“We’ve had so much positive feedback about what a great event it was,” she said. “It felt like a genuine celebration of everything that’s good about Band of Builders – and it was amazing that so many volunteers, supporters,

corporate sponsors, well-wishers and beneficiaries could come together, get dressed up to the nines and let their hair down.

“A lot of hard work and planning went into this event, and the fact that we’ve had so many kind comments saying it was the best charity ball BoB has hosted yet means the world to us.”