Debbie Fund Ball 2011
The Debbie Fund Ball was held in September 2011 at The Hurlingham Club, and thanks to the tremendous generosity of our guests, donors and sponsors we raised over £240,000. Thank you all so much, including those who were unable to attend the event but so kindly sent donations to us.
Celebrity actor Nathaniel Parker was a wonderful host for the evening, famous actor and singer songwriter Douglas Hodge, who knew Debbie almost as long as Mark, gave a superb rendition of "I am what I am" from his Laurence Olivier and Tony award winning role as Albin in the Broadway and West End smash hit musical La Cage aux Folles, and Faryl Smith and Debbie’s daughter Sarah Phillips sang the extremely moving “Blue Chair” duet.
Colin Emson, Chairman of the finance and investment Robert Fraser Group, kindly conducted our very successful Live Auction which together with our Silent Auction raised an amazing amount of money for Debbie Fund thanks to the generosity of our auction prize donors and bidders.
There was a draw for a Mini One, which looked spectacular on display in the Palm Court as guests arrived to enjoy the champagne reception, while music from The Caribe All Stars created an upbeat start to the evening.
So many people generously supported the Debbie Fund Ball, either with donations, sponsorship, bids for prizes, lending their time or joining the fun and the Ball. We hope we have not missed anyone on our Debbie Fund Ball Thank You page. Without you all the Ball could not possibly have been a success. We are so grateful to you all.
Thank You!
To all of of our guests, and to generous supporters who couldn’t attend but kindly sent donations.
To the fantastic Debbie Fund Ball Commitee who worked so hard to make the evening a success. Not forgetting their other halves for supporting us in the venture.
To Nat Parker for being our MC for the evening and to Douglas Hodge, Faryl Smith and Sarah Phillips for singing for us.
To our auctioneer Colin Emson for giving his time to auction our lots and joining in the fun, and to Lord Dalmeny for his valuable advice.
To Freshfields and Southsquare for sponsoring the Ball and to Freshfields for printing our programme and tickets.
To Tesco for so generously donating 700 bottles of Tesco Finest wine and for distributing Sarah’s EP “Say It’s Possible” and donating the proceeds to Debbie Fund.
To Savills for providing our goody bags and for all those donors who helped us fill them.
To the Buying Solution, the independent buying consultancy of Knight Frank, for generously sponsoring our striking Cranberry Vodka Ice.
To our incredibly generous auction lot donors who offered such amazing and unusual auction prizes.
To all our advertisers who helped us put together the must-read glossy programme
To Cai Ferrer at Pure Consulting for managing our event.
To Jane MacQuitty for her expert advice on choosing the champagne and wines.
To Aaron Raybe for producing such a moving video.
To the team at Magnet Harlequin for their design and artwork for the Ball programme and Debbie Fund logo.
To Brad John-Davis at Open Destinations for his work on the Debbie Fund website.
To Cooper Thames Ditton for providing a Mini One at a price we could afford
To Anne Sykes, owner of Inside Out in Petersfield for securing and taking delivery of the tablecentre vases, mirrors and candles.
To Mia Woodford for allowing us to draw on her experience of organising two successful and enjoyable CuraBalls.
To Henry Bonas for his help and advice.
To Julia Wates for taking photos to record the event.
To all our suppliers who were generous with their discounts in support of Debbie Fund.
To our wonderful helpers for giving their time to the cause.
To the Debbie Fund Advisory Board for their support and advice.
To Professor Chris Boshoff for the inspiration of his amazing team of scientists at UCL.
To Mark Phillips for his unfailing energy in support of the cause.
To Debbie for being such a firm friend and giving us so many happy memories.
And to all the many friends and colleagues of ours and of Debbie who have supported us so enthusiastically over the past year of planning.