You will go to the (Charity) Ball!

Here at Sandhole Oak Barn we like to give back to the community when we can and when Emily first came to us to discuss her idea it was something we passionately wanted to support her with.

Emily worked for Top Table Wedding and Events at Sandhole Oak Barn and when Emily lost her Grandad to Cancer she wanted to do something and her Boss and Head Chef Dave Ross gave her the idea of a Charity Ball. She approached Sandhole about hosting the event and they fully supported the idea and offered the venue free of charge and Top table would provide the catering. Emily’s parents at first thought this was a crazy idea which made her even more determined to make it happen.

Tickets were sold on Facebook and sold out in 24 hours (180 people) and the money was being raised for Douglas Macmillan who had looked after Emily’s Grandad and they raised an amazing £12,500. When presenting the cheque to the charity it became apparent that this amount of money would only provide half a day’s support and made Emily even more driven to raise more and planned another ball.
While planning the second ball, Emily lost her Auntie to cancer and decided to dedicate this Ball in memory of her and raised £17,000 with another sell out.

Then in June the following year Emily’s Dad who is a key part of the team helping to find sponsors for the event, was diagnosed with prostate cancer and started treatment at Macclesfield Cancer Unit. It was during one of their visits they realised that the hospice family room had very few facilities for patients and their families, so they decided to donate the £15,000 raised from the third ball to help improve the facilities. This money bought items such as a coffee machine and microwave and a prostate machine. This machine analyses urine samples and can provide a diagnosis within 24 hours as opposed to the two weeks patients usually have to wait for results.

Then with Covid there was break for a year before the fourth ball which raised £14,000. This time Emily had seen a Go Fund Me page on Facebook for a local lady from Congleton who was trying to raise funds for cancer treatment and time was running out. Having spoken to the lady Emily discovered that she had already endured a double mastectomy, but not all the cancerous cells were removed and there was no NHS funding for any further treatment. Emily made the decision to donate the money needed for the treatment and the lady is now 6 months in remission.

2023 is the fifth year and raised £14,500 which is helping a local family from Macclesfield. Kyle has been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer and needs £70,000 for innovative radiotherapy treatment in Austria. Kyle’s family have already managed to raise £60,000 and so with the additional £14,500 they now have enough for the treatment and some money left over for his aftercare. His operation is scheduled for 10th February. The Chronicle are also sharing Emily’s story about how her fundraising all began and the difference this money has made to so many lives in our local community.

Emily feels very fortunate to have such great sponsors that have supported her events year on year and we here at Sandhole feel very privileged to have hosted these Charity Balls and support Emily with her fundraising, she is truly remarkable.

You can find out more about Emily and what she does by following her on Instagram.
We are honoured to be able to continue supporting her and all the amazing things she is doing for such an important cause.