A FUNDRAISING event held in the Seamill Hydro in West Kilbride has raised a staggering amount in honour of a late Troon woman.
The ‘Birdie Ball’ was held at the end of November in honour of Rhona ‘Birdie’ Clayton. Rhona sadly passed away in 2015 following a battle with cancer.
Rhona was a dedicated mum, wife, sister, daughter, teacher and a wonderful friend to all, her passing has had an incredible impact on everyone who met her.
She lived in Troon and worked at Dundonald Primary School and participated in local organisations such as Ladies Circle and Round Table with her husband Alan.
Left heartbroken but inspired by this remarkable woman her family and friends decided to do something to mark her memory and raise huge amounts of funds to help others – and the Birdie Ball was born.
The ball returned to the North Ayrshire hotel for its third edition after launching back in 2017 – with the past few years having to be postponed due to the Covid pandemic.
The evening of spectacular entertainment looked to raise funds for three charities in Rhona’s honour – Ayrshire Cancer Support, Cancer Research UK and Alzheimer’s Scotland.
The 2022 ball raised a staggering £15,000 which was shared amongst the charities.
This year’s event once again saw guests treated to a wonderful evening all in the name of some great causes.
They were treated to a sumptuous four course meal and the renowned ‘Birdie Ball Balloon Raffle’.
They also got to partake in an auction held by a ‘celebrity MC’ which included some wonderful and generous donations from local people, groups and companies.
Attendees then had the chance to dance the night away to the fabulous ‘The Reffrishers’ before what was teased as “a very special celebrity musical interlude”.
Organisers said this was not to be missed and how correct they were – as the Red Hot Chilli Pipers wowed guests at the Seamill Hydro.
And those responsible for the event were able to hand over the cheques of £5,000 to Cancer Research UK and Ayrshire Cancer earlier this week. Unfortunately due to a prior engagement the representative of Alzheimer’s Scotland could not attend, however the sum was transferred into their account.
Organisers passed on their thanks to all attendees, generous donators and supporting businesses – as well as passing on the thanks of the three benefitting charities.
For more information on the event, visit their website (thebirdieball.co.uk/) or Facebook page (facebook.com/Thebirdieball/).
