Red carpet ball at Burnley's Crow Wood Hotel raises £50,000 for Pendleside Hospice and Burnley Community Grocery

The funds raised at the seventh glittering event will support the company’s two chosen charities, Pendleside Hospice and Burnley Community Grocery.

The event was attended by 300 guests who enjoyed a drinks reception followed by a three-course dinner. The ticket money, together with some individual and company donations, was donated by Crow Wood in its entirety.

Guests were entertained by James Cockerill, a wedding and events singer and he was just one of many sponsors who either gave their time free of charge or contributed generously towards the evening. Lloyds BMW was the headline sponsor and, helped by Creative Venue Stylists, dressed the event spectacularly.

David Brown, chairman of Pendleside Hospice, said: “We are enormously grateful to Crow Wood, and Andrew, my brother, for all their fundraising efforts and support. It costs £ 5 million per year to run our service and we have to raise £4 million of that. The local community has always been very generous and long may that continue since without vital support, such as this, we just couldn’t continue.”

Guests and event sponsors came together to also raise funds and bid generously during the auction to win a selection of coveted prizes and experiences including a VIP Crow Wood hospitality experience complete with transportation by Rolls Royce, a gin-tasting experience with Cuckoo Gin, a £400 Discover Laser voucher plus signed football memorabilia and more.

Pete Baker, on behalf of Burnley Community Grocery, said: “We cannot thank Crow Wood enough for their generosity. To receive a cheque for £10,000 as we did in the evening was the most incredible first birthday present for us. That takes total donations from Crow Wood to £31,050 this year. Phenomenal.

“We now have 2,400 members so we see hundreds of families every week. We spend £2,000 per month on food supporting some of the neediest families in the area so imagine what a difference this will make to these families and the support we can give them. This support from Crow Wood and its staff is just incredible.”

Proceeds from the ball take the total amount raised by Crow Wood this financial year to over £70,000 which represents a new fundraising record and tops last year’s £50,000.