TOC Dinner raises £700,000 for this year's charity WellChild

TOC Dinner raises £700,000 for this year's charity WellChild

Last night saw The October Club’s annual fundraising efforts culminate at London’s iconic Savoy Hotel with WellChild, the national charity for seriously ill children as their charity partner.

The Club raised over £700,000 which will help establish a new network of WellChild Better At Home Units across the UK to empower parents and carers with the skills and confidence they need to care for their child at home.

Over 400 guests attended the dinner and the evening included speeches by Henry Knapman, Chairman of The October Club, Independent nursing and healthcare advisor Liz Morgan, and parent Craig Hatch. WellChild Patron HRH The Duke of Sussex sent a specially recorded video message thanking The October Club for its support for WellChild.

Funds were raised on the night via a live and silent auction, with lots such as a David Yarrow original image, 'The Barber off Fairfax', a private box at Ascot Racecourse and a unique behind the scenes experience at the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden, raising over £384,000. In addition, guests were able to make pledges to support WellChild’s Better At Home Units. 

WellChild Chief Executive Colin Dyer said: “We would like to thank The October Club for their fantastic support in organising this wonderful event and in donating so generously towards WellChild’s work for seriously ill children and their families. Their support will be invaluable as we establish our Better At Home Units across the UK which will allow parents looking after children with complex needs to get the training and vital skills they need to care for them safely at home.”

Chairman of The October Club, Henry Knapman, said: "WellChild have been a terrific partner throughout this year and the October Club committee was delighted with another hugely successful annual dinner last night. For 31 years we have been helping smaller UK charities transform their offering and I'm confident that WellChild has the project, the strategy and the management to do just that. We look forward to maintaining our connection with them and watching their success for many years to come."

The October Club was founded in 1987 by a group of City workers, who decided to hold a fundraising dinner in aid of Leukaemia sufferers.  Since then, the Club has held annual dinners, raised over £11 million for transformational charity projects and is known as the City’s Equity Businesses' main ‘Trade Association Event’. The application process for their 2019 Charity opens later this year, and more details can be found on their website.

WellChild provides essential and practical support to ensure that the increasing number of seriously ill children and young people in the UK have the best possible quality of care. The charity provides a team of WellChild Children's Nurses who work with families to ensure that children with complex care needs can leave hospital and return home and, through its Helping Hands scheme, WellChild enlists the support of volunteers to tackle practical projects in the homes of sick children. In addition, the charity has invested more than £20 million in ground-breaking children's health research projects.