Northampton fundraising team returns after two year pandemic break and raises more money than ever before

A Northampton fundraising team has returned to hosting annual balls after taking a two year break due to the pandemic, and has managed to raise more than their first event in 2019.

Let’s Celebrate, a fundraising team made up of a mother, son and family friend, took over from hosting an annual dinner and dance at the Park Inn in Silver Street, after Aces stopped after a 15-year stint in 2018.

Son Leon Young, mother Patricia Young, and family friend Sona Thompson raised £1,245 for The Sickle Cell Society at this year’s ball on September 24. The charity was chosen by the guests of their last ball in 2019, where they raised £1,200.

Leon said: “It was great to get back to organising the balls, but it was daunting as we didn’t know if it was going to be a success after our long break.

“It was as if we were starting from scratch again, as we lost the momentum created by the hype of the first one.

“Having to take a break was frustrating, but we worked through the challenges of getting back into the swing of things.”

The trio have put their spin on what Aces, a group offering support to older individuals across the county, did with the fundraising balls.

This year’s event welcomed around 120 guests and despite this being around 80 less than the last one in 2019, they were still able to raise more money than before for The Sickle Cell Society.

As well as holding a raffle to generate more funds, guests were entertained by a singer, comedian and DJ.

Talking about why the charity was chosen by the guests of the first event, Leon said: “Sickle cell disease is not spoken about enough.

“As a lot of our guests are from Caribbean and African backgrounds, who are affected by this awful disease, they wanted more awareness to be raised and were happy with the choice of charity.”

The CEO of The Sickle Cell Society, John James OBE, was in attendance at the ball, where he gave a speech, and the fundraisers paid him a visit at their head offices in London to present the cheque donation on October 26.

“John was very pleased to attend and with how much was raised,” said Leon. “Every little helps, but he saw it as a very generous donation.

“The money will go towards raising awareness of the disease and drumming up as much buzz about the charity and the work they do as possible.”

The guest’s generosity in attending, buying raffle tickets and donating through their Just Giving page allowed Let’s Celebrate to raise more than ever before, and they hope next year’s ball will be “bigger and better”.

In September, the guests decided the 2023 ball will fundraise for a prostate cancer charity and the event will take place on September 23 next year.

Let’s Celebrate is yet to begin planning, but will start at the beginning of next year.