Charity ball for Youth Zone raises over £11,000

More than 170 guests from businesses across East Lancashire attended a glittering Black and Gold Charity Ball at Stanley House to help raise money for the Blackburn Youth Zone.

The ball was organised by Accrington-based Cummins Mellor Recruitment who are proud partners of the Youth Zone.

There was incredible support shown from clients, colleagues and friends of Cummins Mellor donating very generous raffle and auction prizes and Barclays Bank agreed to match funds raised to a maximum of £5,000, meaning the final total raised was £11,750!

The evening saw staggering dance performances by three of Blackburn Youth Zone’s own members as well as a raffle with over 20 prizes.

An auction was also held with one of the 10 items, a dinner party for 10 guests donated by Chefs Jobs UK, a division of Cummins Mellor sold for over £1000. The item included a private Chef, Waitress and Sommelier for the evening with all food and wine included.

Richard Mellor, managing director of Cummins Mellor Recruitment, said: “We genuinely believe that youth is the future and understand the importance of developing young talent to become leaders. Eight current members of staff at Cummins Mellor started with us as Modern Apprentices and have gone on to secure senior positions within the company.

"I’m overwhelmed by the amount of support we received from businesses in Lancashire who attended and donated prizes for the evening. The amount of money we raised shows how much other businesses are willing to get behind the cause. I would like to thank everybody who made the night such a success.” The money raised will go towards a campaign to create 100 new teen leaders at the Youth Zone. The leaders will be role models for younger members of the community and be given the opportunity to gain qualifications as well as volunteering.