FoundationHighlightsEdition 86 l December 2015

It’s show time! Foundation Ball season is here . . .

December 2015 2dmthomasfoundation.org

Foundation Ball, sponsored by McAleer & Rushe

The Foundation returned to London Hilton on Park Lane once again this November, for another fabulous evening of food, music and entertainment. The ball was held in support of the Foundation, specifically our Beat it programme as we are funding the refurbishment of rooms at the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice. This will build on our support from last year’s event, where we funded the refurbishment of four rooms.

Guests were welcomed to the white and green themed ballroom with a glass of champagne and the chance to have a look at the items that were up for grabs in the silent auction, auction and raffle. They were then officially welcomed to the ball by Chairman of the Foundation’s board of Trustees, Simon Vincent OBE, and led in grace by Hilton London on Park Lane General Manager Michael Shepherd. We were delighted to showcase our new Foundation video, which you can view here.

Guests sat down to a sumptuous meal prepared by the head chef Anthony Marshall and his team, which included a cheese soufflé starter and a chocolate and raspberry parfait to finish, all washed down with some delicious wine. Then compère for the evening Reg Parsons invited guests to take part in Heads and Tails, with the chance of winning a two night trip for two people to the Conrad New York.

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After the plates were cleared away, the spectacular laser violinist Lumina dazzled the ball guests with her virtuosic violin playing and laser display. Guest auctioneer and ex-rugby player Matt Poole then opened the bidding on the auction. There were some fantastic items to be won including theatre tickets, an apple watch, restaurant vouchers and fantastic holidays to the Algarve, Amsterdam and Champagne, and much more.

Once all the items had been auctioned off Michael Shepherd and Foundation Trustee Ramesh Dewan drew the auction. There were some fantastic prizes up for grabs, from a beautiful Fortnum & Mason Hamper, to holidays, beauty products and experiences.

Guests were entertained in spectacular style by West End star Beverley Knight, who performed a variety of popular hits from her own catalogue. After that, ball favourites China Grove returned for another year to the ballroom stage as guests danced the night away.

Huge thanks go to everyone who contributed to making the Foundation ball such a fabulous success and raising over £360,000 for the Foundation’s work. Special thanks go to Dame Maureen Thomas and the ball committee, our ball sponsors for the second year running McAleer & Rushe, Michael Shepherd and his team at Hilton London on Park Lane, our fantastic group of volunteers, and our incredibly generous donors and supporters who provided the fantastic prizes, food, drink, decoration and much more. Click here to see more photos from the night.

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Just Can’t Wait - Grant Update In 2010 the Foundation awarded The Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children with a grant for £17,700, to fund their project “Just Can’t Wait”. Newlife is the largest charity provider of specialist equipment for children with disabilities and terminal illness in the UK. We are delighted to share an update with you on how our grant has been put to use.

Saki’s storyA simple piece of specialist equipment means 15-year-old Dionysios Roussos can make the most of life at home in Barnsley. Dionysios – known to family and friends as Saki – has a congenital heart and lung condition; he has undergone significant surgery, but no further treatment options are available. Saki still manages to walk very short distance at times but tires very easily. When he stopped being able to self-propel his manual wheelchair, mum Sharon found it increasingly difficult to get him out and about because they live in a hilly area. A request to statutory services for a powered wheelchair was declined because Saki is not well enough to be in full-time education; at the moment he manages a couple of half days a week.

Sharon said: “We were very restricted to where we could go and were increasingly stuck in the house. Saki was desperate to be able to do ‘normal’ things again like help take his dog Tilly for a walk or go shopping, so his physiotherapist at Bluebell Wood hospice recommended we contact Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children.”

Within days, Newlife had delivered a mobility scooter to Saki – and now he is able to get out and about once again Saki said: “I think the scooter is fab and I can now go out with Tilly.”

Sharon added: “Saki’s condition is deteriorating, so much so that we have an ‘end of life care package’ in place. But he wants to stay at home as long as possible. This scooter has helped restore a bit of ‘normality’ to his life and being able to do simple things like take Tilly for a walk each day gives him something to look forward to. It’s simple things like this, and being able to pop to the shop at the bottom of the hill, that make such a big difference.”

Hilton Bath BallHilton Bath City held their charity ball this 24 October, in support of the Foundation and Royal United Hospital in Bath.

Ball guests were welcomed to the ballroom at Hilton Bath City with a delicious dinner prepared by the Executive Chef and his team. They were then invited to take part in the raffle where they could win some fantastic prizes including a hamper from House of Fraser, a manicure voucher, cinema tickets and much more. There was also a silent auction, and then guests danced the night away. Thanks to everyone who made the ball a success, and to all of the companies and supporters who donated prizes and more.

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Christmas is Coming!Order your Christmas 2015 Ducks for Change now. At least £1 from each set bought from the Foundation goes to charitable causes. Take a look at the full range available on the next page.

Contact ducks@dmtfyp.org

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In 2015 the Foundation has been delighted to give away over £50,000 through our local Giveaway grants, in association with our supporters around the country. To celebrate, we want to give away even more!

Under our ABLE banner, the Foundation helps young people to Achieve it, Beat it, Live it and Experience it. Employability has long been of key importance to the Foundation, not least because we are proud of our into-work programme Galvin’s Chance, some of the successful graduates of which are pictured above.

From 2016 the Foundation will support employability as a central theme, building on years of support to numerous training programmes and into-work schemes. To launch this focus, part of our Live It giving, we are holding a special £5K Giveaway, inviting charities working with disadvantaged young people on specifically employability projects, to apply for support.

EligibilityThe £5K Live It Giveaway is open to charities and registered community organisations across the UK and Ireland working on youth employability projects. You can find out more information by checking our grant guidelines.

How to applyThe £5K Live It Giveaway will run from 1 December and the application deadline is 5pm on 14 December 2015. To apply for any amount up to and including £5K please complete and return the Giveaway application form to kirsty.mitchell@dmtfyp.org.

Following the deadline the Foundation will review the applications and all applicants will be contacted to be informed of the outcome. The winners will be announced on our social media accounts and in the January edition of Highlights.

Announcing the Foundation £5K Live It Giveaway

(L-R) Foundation grantees Fly Cup Catering and Dee Smith and Angela Perez from our Galvin’s Chance partner, Springboard

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION FORM

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Fire & Ice Ball in Welsh capital

Hilton Cardiff held The Fire & Ice Ball on 13 November, in support of the Foundation and our charity partner the Noah’s Ark Appeal. The Noah’s Ark Appeal is the fundraising body for the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales, which is based at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff and provides health care to children across Wales.

Guests to the Fire & Ice Ball were welcomed to the ball, entering via the dramatically decorated atrium which featured flames and snow flakes, stilt walkers and masqueraders. They were able to take part in the raffle and silent auction, and entertainment was provided by Jagger and Woody from Real Radio and comedian Mike Doyle. Incredible food was served up by Hilton Cardiff’s Executive Chef Mark Freeman and his team, which was all in keeping with the Fire &

Ice theme of the evening. After a sumptuous meal, guests took to the dance floor while a surprise appearance was made by Ambassador of the Noah’s Ark Appeal Bonnie Tyler, who delighted the room by performing two of her hit songs.

Huge thanks go to the Ball team at the Hilton Cardiff, for achieving another terrific event and raising much-needed funds for the Foundation and Noah’s Ark Appeal. Thanks go to everyone who worked so hard to make the evening so enjoyable, and to the ball sponsors D1, Graham’s Sweet Studios, Special Occasion Linen, Sounds Commercial, The Print Centre, Christian and Tracey Paynton, WRU, Radyr Golf Club, Neva Vehicle Leasing South Wales, Royal Welsh School of Music and Drama, Cardiff Castle, Le Monde, St. David’s Hall, Bayside Brasserie, Holm House, House of Sport, Escape Spa, Henry’s, National Museum of Wales, Seafood Direct, United Fresh Consortium, Elliots of Oxford, Birtwhistle, Novus Tea, Viaggio, Jego Hair Salons, Town and Country, Delice de France, Brakes, Destiny, Harvey & Brockless, Infinity Rocks, JWood photography, Matthew Clarke, Giovannis, ACAB and SWICA. Thanks also go to Clive Hughes, the auctioneer for the evening.

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Hilton Worldwide volunteers for its Global Month of ServiceAcross the world this October, our corporate partner Hilton Worldwide ran its fourth annual Global Month of Service, putting its amazing team members to work with the community.

The Foundation assisted the EMEA Corporate Responsibility team to deliver two of the events; one in Milan, Italy and one in Watford, UK.

In Milan, the focus was on food and food waste, working with local partners Farsi Prossimo and Banco Equovento Lombardia. Dominique Lorent and the Hilton Milan team hosted a special competition event, with Hilton’s senior executives producing a range of delicious dishes under the watchful eye of Chef Paolo Ghiardi and his kitchen team. Representatives from Farsi Prossimo’s ‘Mama Food’

project shared their recipes from across North Africa and the Middle East. After the cooking, food was packed to donate to the local foodbank, an ongoing initiative for Hilton Milan and food for thought for the attendees.

In Watford, the GMS event built on Hilton Worldwide’s relationship with Watford Works, a local into-work support and training programme for young people facing various disadvantages, to help them overcome barriers and find employment. Watford Works is a project of the Watford Football Club Community Trust, which uses the power of football and appeal of the Premiership to engage with youth.

Team member volunteers led a ‘skills share’ event with young people, who also joined the day from West Herts College and YMCA Watford. Watford FC stadium on Vicarage Road played host to the special event, at which senior Hilton figures shared their career stories and volunteers led CV clinics and skills-building tasks. A further group of volunteers worked with Watford FC Community Trust staff to explore various business challenges and contribute towards a strategy for the charity’s growth and development.

Aimee Lowrie oversaw the event, which pulled together over 100 volunteers from different departments including RMCC, HR, Communications, Engineering and Procurement, among others.

Team members also rolled up their sleeves, helping to clear, clean and paint areas of a nearby community centre, which will be used for a range of new activities such as sports training on a new all-weather pitch. Hilton Worldwide’s Engineering department was at the centre in force, using its core skills to construct a bespoke casing for a gas generator and ensuring the message of Reuse, Recycle was paramount as the centre was cleared. LightStay guidance was used to ensure waste was minimised, for example filing cabinets were recovered and painted to become unique plant holders, brightening up a plain terrace. Biowaste from a previous gardening project was used as pulp for the holders.

Katherine Sammons of Watford Works said after the day: “Thank you to all of you who worked so hard to make this project happen! The feedback from the Watford Works group was great and they all took something valuable away from the day. Yesterday they were all very motivated to make improvements to their CVs and send them out to employers.”

Volunteers from Hilton Worldwide in Watford get stuck into some DIY

Team members in Milan rustle up some wholesome food

December 2015 9dmthomasfoundation.org

Teddy Bears help bereaved children

Following the success of our last £10k giveaway we were able to support a number of charities and small projects throughout Northern Ireland in association with Hilton Belfast.

One of these charities was the NI Foyle Hospice, which was awarded £2,000 to deliver a worthwhile and innovative initiative for children.

Children who have lost a close relative over the last 12 months, mostly a parent, were able to participate in the “memory bear” project. Children were helped to build their own bear with items of clothing belonging to their deceased loved one. The children created a beautiful assortment of bears incorporating dressing gowns, shirts, buttons and favourite clothes; the wish is that each bear will provide a lasting memory and provide some comfort to the children. Our supporters from Hilton Belfast were invited to attend the evening celebrations after the workshop. Almost 50 children attended and all completed bears were presented to the children along with their next of kin.

Catherine Williamson from Hilton Belfast said: “A beautiful story and a very emotional night where such a little amount went a very long way. This is a lovely example of how every penny raised by all our staff for the Foundation goes a very long way”

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Dust off that Little Black Dress for charity

The Conrad Algarve together with Portuguese charity ACCA organized a Little Black Dress Party, to support disadvantaged children in the Algarve.

A total of 170 guests attended the event in their finest black dresses and tie, to raise money for this important cause, and had the opportunity to bid on some fantastic prizes in the auction. The first item under the hammer was a painting produced by artist and performer Spirit Painters from Monaco. The winning bid of €5,000 for the painting was a trememndous start to the evening, as guests dug deep and took the total from the evening to a fantastic €20,000.

The auction was run by ACCA president Wanda Crawford and Conrad Algarve’s general manager Joachim Hartl.

Money from the evening will go to support Mariana (pictured above) who has needed constant therapy since she was born to simulate her senses and help her to develop. Mariana has not been able to have as much therapy as she needed to date, so the money raised from the ball will pay for these vital therapies to help her progress and avoid the regression of learning, the loss of organ functionality, and help aid Mariana’s healthy growth.

Wanda Crawford of ACCA said “A huge thank you on behalf of ACCA; we appreciate your tremendous support of our charity. We have raised an amazing €20,000 as a result of your fabulous venue and professional team. The event was a great success… Your philanthropic endeavours are making a wonderful difference to the lives of children in need here in the Algarve.”

Foundation supporters from Hilton Leeds were delighted to meet with members of Martin House Children’s Hospice to hand over a Foundation cheque for £755.64 from their recent fundraising efforts. Martin House serves families with sick and life limited children in the Leeds area, and has been a charity partner of the Foundation for 10 years.

Leeds Children’s Hospice supported

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Save the DateAround the World in a Day 201612th-18th June 2016dmthomasfoundation.org/awd

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Dates for your Diary

03/12/2015 Hilton London Gatwick Airport £10K Giveaway

04/12/2015 Hilton Cyprus Charity Dinner

07/12/2015 Hilton Cyprus Lunch

10/12/2015 Galvin at Windows Prison Restaurant Pop-up

16/12/2015 Hilton London Metropole Christmas Charity Ball

08/03/2016 Hilton Blackpool Charity Music Festival

18/06/2016 Hilton Brighton Metropole Midsummer Ball

21/07/2016 Hilton Worldwide Procurement Golf Day

08/10/2016 Hilton Manchester Deansgate Star Ball

12/11/2016 Hilton Avisford Park, Arundel Ball

26/11/2016 The Foundation Foundation Ball

If you would like to attend any of these events, please visit the events page on our website to book. If you have any other events not shown, do tell us at events@dmtfyp.org.

If you have activities that you would like to be included in the next edition of Highlights please contact us on comms@dmtfyp.org We wish you the best of luck with all of your Foundation activities and thank you for helping us to transform young lives.