Anniversary ball raises £30,000 for Blackburn Youth Zone

An anniversary ball hosted to mark 10 years of Blackburn Youth Zone has raised £30,000 towards its running costs.

The event was organised by long-time patron Pets Choice, was hosted at Mytton Fold in Langho and featured presentations by chairman Jack Straw and founder Andrew Graham.

The fundraising events included an online auction prior to the event as well as a raffle and traditional auction on the night.

As part of the anniversary celebrations, the young people from the Youth Zone were asked for a wish list of what they’d like to improve and a pledge wall was displayed at the event. This saw patrons commit to funding new equipment for the music room, 10 new musical instruments and new books, audiobooks and listening equipment for the library.

Jack Straw said: "It means an awful lot to the young people in the whole Blackburn with Darwen borough that we have been able to provide such wonderful opportunities over the past 10 years.

"Thanks to our supporters, we have been able to go from quite humble beginnings to now having an average of 1,200 young people every week through our doors – that is something truly remarkable."

Hannah Allen, CEO of BYZ, commented: "We are so grateful to our patrons and supporters for helping us be in the strongest place we’ve ever been. If Blackburn Youth Zone was a seed, our patrons would be our sunshine and water, their support has allowed us to grow and given us the freedom to bloom. We are so excited to be celebrating our 10th birthday and cannot wait to see what the next 10 years have in store."

Picture: Rt Hon Jack Straw, Colin Mustoe MBE (Chairman of The Senator Group), Tony Raeburn (CEO Pets Choice), Hannah Allen, Andrew Graham MBE