Palm’s charity auction ball

The Palm Association’s Charity Auction Ball at the Sheraton Hotel has raised a phenomenal BD27,000, bringing the total money raised since the charity’s launch to a breathtaking quarter of a million dinars.

“We made it! I am very, very happy,” said Debra Wakefield, one the association’s founding members when she reveled that they had reached the milestone figure.
“It was absolutely fantastic we raised BD23,000 from the actual auction and 3,000 from donations after the dinner. Then another person who attended the ball was so touched that they gave us another BD1,000.
“It’s created a lot of awareness. Our profile has been raised and a lot of people now realise what we do. We’ll be able to do so much with the money.”
The charity, which provides assistance to local families and  individuals, was launched seven years ago and last week’s ball was the fifth they have held.
“This was our best ever ball, previous years we raised between BD13,000 and BD16,000,” revealed Nadia Swan,  another of the charity’s committee members.
The auction lots were eagerly snapped up throughout the evening. A framed set of 12 Forumla 1 hats signed by racing drivers sold for BD3,700.
There were also a host of prizes on offer. A pair of Cathay Pacific tickets to the Far East were won by a manager at Gulf Air, who previously won a spot prize of two tickets to Dubai courtesy of Cathay Pacific which he re-donated.
Entertainment was provided by the Dilmun Dixe Landers who played jazz numbers, and DJ Elroy who played into the night – all of whom provided their services for free.
“We really appreciate the help from all the sponsors: BMI, Cathay Pacific, Alia Flowers and Awal Printing Press who printed all our tickets, menus and posters. We couldn’t have done it without them,” said Mrs Wakefield.