The 2019 Floral Bling Fling has been hailed a blooming great success, raising £22,000 in aid of Forget Me Not children’s Hospice.
Three hundred businesswomen from across West Yorkshire attended the glamorous charity lunch held at The Arches in Dean Clough, Halifax.
The Bling Fling returned for the second year running this time with a floral theme, featuring beautiful flowers available for guests to buy in order to enter a special prize draw, plus more chances to win throughout the event.
Guests won lots of exciting prizes donated by businesses sponsoring the event, including tickets to see Take That donated by the John Smith Stadium in Huddersfield, Meals for a Year at 12 participating restaurants across Kirklees and Calderdale and Flowers for a Year donated by Yorkshire-based Ramsdens Solicitors.
Volunteers from Dewsbury Rams Rugby League club put a bit of muscle behind the event pitching in with a team of “Butlers in Bowties” to meet and greet guests as they arrived. They circulated with raffle tickets and generally assisted the organising committee to ensure that everything ran smoothly in order to raise as much as possible for the Huddersfield-based hospice.
Compere Steve Royle, a comedian, radio presenter, actor, and writer, injected a whole bunch of mirth into the proceedings and dazzled the Bling Fling ladies with his witty repartee.
Vicki Davenport, head of The Bling Fling Committee said: “We’d like to thank everyone who made the event such a huge success. We couldn’t have done this without those attending getting behind the event and really getting involved. Each year this event gets bigger and better and we are so grateful to all those who donated prizes, support and time.”
The total raised topped the success of last year’s “Diamond” Bling Fling. With a glittering jewellery theme, the first event brought in an impressive £17,750 for the hospice, which supports families of children with life-shortening illnesses.
Jess Lees, Corporate Fundraiser at Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, said: “It costs us £4million a year to help change the lives of all the wonderful children and families who use our services every day. Without events like the Bling Fling to bring in funds and the support of caring people we wouldn’t be able to carry on doing what we do.
“In fact, what we really need is to keep growing, because we can currently only reach 15% of the families who need us, so we do appreciate all the help we can get.”
