Grassroots charity sparkle foundation raises £90,000 in inaugural fundraising ball

The Sparkle Foundation Malawi, an award-winning grassroots charity, held its first charity fundraising ball in the UK, raising more than £90,000. The event took place on Friday 8 October 2021, hosted over 325 guests at Braxted Park, Essex, and was a resounding success. Due to COVID-19, the event was postponed from October 2019, but has raised more than doubled the original goal of £40,000.

Funds raised by the Sparkle Ball will allow the charity to not only meet the budget for its programmes in Malawi, where it focuses on creating brighter futures for children and their communities, but will also help to expand the charity to new sites across Malawi. This is an outstanding achievement, given that since the start of the pandemic, Sparkle has struggled (alongside the rest of the charity sector) with fundraising efforts, and to date is approximately 40% under its 2021 fundraising targets.

The night of the Sparkle Ball saw guests bidding on a number of both live auction prizes, including stays at an Ibiza villa, a French ski chalet, and a Seychelles apartment. With bids on a silent auction platform and donations from guests on the night, the charity was completely overwhelmed by its success in raising over £90,000.

Sarah Brook, CEO and Founder of The Sparkle Foundation, said: “Three years ago, I was fundraising in my parents’ kitchen trying to generate £2,000 from 50 friends and family to keep some of The Sparkle Foundation children in Malawi in school. Fast forward to now and we have a sold-out event at one of the most prestigious venues in Essex, UK, after a pandemic, which has raised enough money to cover six months of our costs next year to support 10,000 people in Malawi.

“We are incredibly grateful to all our supporters. It is a proud moment for the charity to see how far we have come in such a short space of time and it is inspiring for me as the founder to see the acts of kindness shown by so many to make the event possible. This is just the start of what The Sparkle Foundation can do in the charity sector.”