Clan raises £87,000 at charity's annual ball

Clan Cancer Support raised £87,000 at its annual fundraising ball this weekend, with hundreds of guests attending the circus themed event at the Beach Ballroom on Saturday night.     

Individuals and businesses from across the North-east came together under a Big Top at Aberdeen’s Beach Ballroom to enjoy a three-course meal and circus themed entertainment while raising money for the charity.

The event included a silent auction and a live auction hosted by ringmaster Des Clarke, with top bids including £5,000 for a Highland Cow sculpture, £2,500 for a week in a French villa and £3,000 for a trip to London.

The total raised on the night included a £10,000 donation from Strachans, the leading provider of Food & Catering Consumables to the UK Energy Industry, which has supported the charity throughout its anniversary year.

The Ball was supported by sponsors including Stork (gold sponsor), CNR International (silver sponsor) and Serica Energy (bronze sponsor).

Fiona Fernie, chief executive of Clan Cancer Support said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have raised such a phenomenal amount at our annual ball and we’d like to thank our incredible sponsors and supporters for their generosity.

“As a local and commercially independent charity, fundraising events like our annual ball are extremely important to us and we are still reeling from the success of the weekend. Every penny raised will help us to support more local people impacted by a cancer diagnosis.”

Guests were welcomed to the event by a fire juggler and stilt walker with performances from Moray Flying Circus, Lamour School of Dance, singer Rebecca Morrice and function band Glitz.

Attendees also heard from mum Jenna and nine-year-old Aurora from Fyvie who have been supported by the charity following Aurora’s cancer diagnosis just days before her eighth birthday.

Clan’s Children and Family Service has since provided age-appropriate support to Aurora at home and school. Aurora also regularly visits Clan House in Aberdeen for therapeutic massage treatments.

Aurora is now cancer free but continues to be supported by Clan along with her younger sister Ada who was only five at the time of her diagnosis.

Mum, Jenna Farren, said: “We were proud to share our story with Clan because the support from the charity has been absolutely invaluable to us, they helped our family navigate a very challenging time.

“Aurora is thankfully now cancer free, but we don’t know what impact her diagnosis and treatment will have in the future so knowing that Clan will always be there to turn to as she grows up is important to us.”

Clan’s mission is to empower people of all ages to navigate a cancer journey by providing free first-class emotional and physical support services through a network of wellbeing centres across the north-east, Moray, Orkney and Shetland.

Clan services include listening support, age-appropriate support for young clients and their families, NHS-aligned complementary therapies, specialist exercise instruction and affordable self-contained accommodation just minutes from Aberdeen Royal Infirmary with the charity's complementary transport service. 

For more information about the charity please visit: https://www.clancancersupport.org/