Children in Distress - St Patrick's Day Charity Ball and Abbey National raise £11,000 in Glasgow

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St Patrick's Day Charity Ball and Abbey National raise £11,000 in Glasgow

Cheque handover at the Allied Irish Bank headquarters in Glasgow

St Patrick's Day Charity Ball, Glasgow and Abbey National raise £11,000 for Children in Distress

A combination of fabulous prizes, a glamorous venue and generous guests eager to help good causes, raised an astonishing £47,500 at the 7th Annual St Patrick's Day Charity Ball in Glasgow on 14th March 2009 and, with the added generosity of Abbey National who match funded the amount raised, Children in Distress was helped to the tune of £11,000.

To celebrate the life of Ireland's patron saint, Allied Irish Bank [GB]'s Glasgow branch, along with other members of the Ball Committee, hosted the Irish-themed event at The Marriott Hotel in Glasgow. Four hundred members of Glasgow's business community gathered together for one of the highlights in the Scottish business calendar. Guests were welcomed with traditional Irish music and the best of Irish cuisine before settling down to fundraising. Led by Scottish celebrity comedian, Andy Cameron, the auction was fiercely competitive as guests vied for generously donated lots including a champagne dinner for 10, signed football jerseys, a diamond necklace and original artwork, all of which were snapped up by eager bidders.

St Pat's Raises Funds for Diverse Charities

Since its inaugural ball in 2002, the ever popular "St Pat's" has raised an astonishing £340,000 for local charities and, this year, Children in Distress was delighted to be selected as one of the committee's chosen charities. Other charities who benefited this year were The Meningitis Association Scotland, Glasgow Taxi Outing Fund, Glasgow Association of Mental Health and The Princess Royal Trust for Carers.

CID are Enormously Grateful

Chief Executive, Alisdair Barron, who attended the event, commented, "We are enormously grateful to the Allied Irish Bank, St Patrick's Day Ball Committee and guests, and Abbey National for this very kind and generous donation. This was a fantastic event and the money raised will make an enormous difference to help complete the much needed extension to our St Nicholas' Child Development Centre in Bucharest which, so far, in the existing facilities, has helped over 1200 children with disabilities resulting from birth defects and genetic disorders."

Presentation Photocall

Joan Morrison, the charity's Funding Development Manager in Scotland, went along to the cheque handover at the Allied Irish Bank headquarters in Glasgow and is seen 5th on the left of the photograph at this very happy occasion.