All of us at St Basils have kickstarted our 50th anniversary celebrations with a Gala Dinner, raising over £10,000 towards a new Live and Work scheme in Birmingham.
The event, which took place at Edgbaston Stadium, Birmingham, on 7th October, marked the beginning of an exciting year of fundraising to build on the success of our award-winning Live and Work scheme in Sandwell.
With ambitions to raise £1million during our anniversary year, the funds will support us with our plans for the next phase of the scheme. This will see the opening of a new facility in Birmingham which will support young people in the city who need it most, as rents and the cost of living continues to increase.
Our Live and Work initiative works with young people, whether they are homeless or at risk of homelessness, to provide them with truly affordable accommodation and access to apprenticeships and other employment, enabling them to live, work, earn and learn.
The Gala Dinner celebrated St Basils’ impact across the region over the past 50 years, whilst looking to the future as we continue our work to empower and transform the lives of young people facing homelessness in the West Midlands.
Hosted by Heart FM favourite, Ed James, the evening boasted live music, entertainment, and a charity auction – with guests bidding for prizes including a summer holiday in Cornwall and a tour of the House of Commons.
Friends and supporters of the charity were also able to hear real-life stories from St Basils’ young people on how the charity has had a positive impact on their life.
St Basils CEO, Jean Templeton, said: “We’re so thankful to everyone who came along to the Gala Dinner to celebrate and support our work over the past 50 years. It was a wonderful evening, and the donations will make a huge difference to our work in ensuring that young people in the West Midlands do not experience homelessness as part of growing up.
“The success of the evening just shows how we can all come together and use our collective will, skill, and resources to enable those young people to thrive and achieve their dreams and ambitions.”
You can see some of the photos, courtesy of Jas Sansi, below.
