Denise van Outen attends New Life Special Care Babies’ World Prematurity Ball at Newbury Racecourse where 4 Oasis tickets fetch £10,000 at auction
A whopping £40,000 was raised at a charity ball attended by television personality Denise van Outen on the weekend, with £10,000 coming from a single lot of four Oasis tickets.
On Saturday, November 16, New Life Special Care Babies held its last social fundraising event of the year, the World Prematurity Ball at The Owners Club, Newbury Racecourse.
The sell-out event was attended by 180 guests comprising regular supporters and fundraisers of the charity including neonatal staff from the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading and the Great Western Hospital in Swindon.
A New Life spokesperson said: “The wonderful sum of £40k—topping last year’s total—was raised by ticket sales, a live auction compered by comedian Aaron James, a silent auction and a raffle.
“One of the most popular auction lots was a set of four tickets to see Oasis which raised an incredible £10,000.
“Dr Sarah Bates, consultant paediatrician and neonatologist at Great Western, gave a wonderful presentation on the impact that New Life has had on preterm mortality in premature babies because of the state-of-the-art equipment it has funded over the years.”
A surprise appearance was made by television actress and presenter Denise van Outen who was in town to switch on the Christmas lights.
She met with New Life’s CEO and founder Trevor Goodall and talked a little bit about the charity that has now raised £650,000 since its inception.
The money raised during the evening will help fund a new ventilator for Royal Berks and equipment for the transitional care unit at Great Western.
New Life is a charitable organisation dedicated to providing neo-natal equipment to special care baby units across the UK.
Mr Goodall set up the charity in 1995 after his twin sons Joshua and Samuel died within a week of being born prematurely at the Great Western Hospital.