£27,131 was raised for local charity ‘When you Wish Upon a Star' at Strata's first Star Ball, which was held at Brooklands Hotel in Barnsley in early May. 250 guests attended the evening, which included a champagne reception followed by fantastic charity auction, prize draw and entertainment.

When you Wish Upon a Star is probably most famous for its annual Lapland trips, where a plane is chartered to take seriously ill children, some terminally ill, to meet Father Christmas, enjoy husky drawn sleigh rides and play in the enchanted forest. Throughout the rest of the year the charity grants a huge range of wishes for children which could be anything from meeting Posh and Becks, to bathing in a bath full of baked beans!

Many of the children that When you Wish Upon a Star grant wishes for are patients at Sheffield Children's hospital, as Joanne Kernon from the Yorkshire and Humberside branch of the charity said:

"As we are a local organisation it is really important that people understand that all of the money which they donate goes towards helping children from this area.

"We were bowled over by the amount that Strata raised; this is the biggest donation that our branch has ever received from one single evening. This magnificent achievement will help to bring some happiness to a lot of very deserving children."

Attendees to the Star Ball included Strata's suppliers and subcontractors from across the region sprinkled with a few competitors. Those that couldn't attend were equally generous with the donation of prizes, including front of house tickets to the Ricky Hatton Vs Juan Lazcano fight, a Manchester United shirt signed by Ronaldo, two weeks in a luxury Florida villa and the star lot - two seats on the Lapland trip to accompany the children to meet Santa!

Strata has been raising money for When you Wish Upon a Star throughout the year with various events but the Star Ball was there biggest and most challenging project yet, as Jim Brennan chair of Strata's charity committee said:

"When we first met Joanne and Pat from When you Wish Upon a Star we were really touched by what they do for these brave children. The Star Ball was an opportunity to raise funds, whilst enjoying a fantastic evening with our guests. Never did we believe that we would raise this much money, so we're really grateful for everyone's generosity!" For further information on When you Wish Upon a Star please visit: www.whenyouwishuponastar.org.uk and for further information on Strata please visit www.homesbyStrata.com

Have Your Say

Be the first to comment on this article!

Login to submit a comment