Following the success of our Winter Waltz Gala Dinner that took place at the end of 2022, we are pleased to have presented a cheque of £126,000 to childhood cancer support charity, The Joshua Tree.
We were thrilled to once again host our Winter Waltz Gala Dinner on Friday 25th November 2022 at The Mere Golf Resort and Spa, Knutsford, which saw over 300 guests come together for a fabulous night of entertainment in the name of charity.
The event as a whole, which was headline sponsored by currency transfer experts TorFX, raised £215,000 for the St. James’s Place Charitable Foundation; the charitable arm of St. James’s Place Wealth Management who Franklyn are a Principal Partner of and who also matched all donations on the night of the event, pound for pound.
The Foundation distributes monies raised through a range of grant programmes to hundreds of charities each year and as well as supporting them, we were delighted to select The Joshua Tree as our ‘pledge charity’ for last year’s Winter Waltz.
Recognising that every family’s cancer journey is unique, The Joshua Tree works with families who have been affected by childhood cancer through providing emotional, academic, and practical support such as counselling, art and play therapy, health and well-being advice, support in and around the home, and educational tutoring where required to help ensure that life remains as normal as possible during an incredibly traumatic time.
The ’pledge charity’ part of the evening gives guests of the event the opportunity to pledge to donate a specific amount that will go directly to that cause.
After hearing the moving words from The Joshua Tree CEO, Richard, and beneficiary of the charity, Catherine, more than 65 guests pledged their support to the North-west based charity.
Richard Driffield, CEO at The Joshua Tree, commented: “We are so grateful to the team at Franklyn for choosing to support The Joshua Tree as their pledge charity for the 2022 Winter Waltz. We are blown away by the generosity of everyone who attended and the amount raised is incredible, thank you to SJP for matching the amount pledged on the night. As a small charity, this level of support will make a huge difference and enable us to help even more families affected by childhood cancers”
Of the £126,000 awarded to The Joshua Tree, £50,000 of this was pledged by premiership rugby side and official partners of Franklyn, Sale Sharks Rugby Club; the donation is the largest single amount pledged in the history of running the event.
Sale Sharks Sales and Marketing Director Claire Butters said: “It was our great pleasure as a club to support both our partner Franklyn and The Joshua Tree, to help them continue to work with so many children and their families in our region.
“We want to be so much more than just a rugby club and a big part of that is supporting causes and events like this that make an impact in our community. We share that passion with the team at Franklyn.”
With the amount raised at last year’s Winter Waltz, the running total raised by us over the years for the SJP Charitable Foundation now stands at £1.5 million.
Andrew Chatterton, Managing Director and Chartered Financial Planner at Franklyn, stated: “We’re thrilled to be able to support The Joshua Tree with this substantial donation and hope it will help them continue the amazing work that they do within our local area.”
“The amount raised is a testament to the continued support from our guests at the event and I would like to once again thank all our supporters who have made this possible.”
“We’ve been partners with Sale Sharks Rugby Club for a number of years now and it is heart-warming to see that we share the same passion of giving back to those around us, and I would like to personally thank them for such an incredible, generous donation.”
The cheque was presented to Diane Hummerston, Head of Income Generation at The Joshua Tree, in the presence of Operations Director at Franklyn, Charlotte Chatterton, along with co-owners of Sale Sharks, Simon and Michelle Orange, and players at the club; Vicky Irwin, Will Cliff, and Manu Tuilagi. Also in attendance was James Whalley and Helen Davies from Belvoir Northwich, supporters of the Winter Waltz, and Catherine and her two children who are beneficiaries of the charity and who spoke on the night of the event which helped gain so much support from guests.
We’re looking forward to continuing our fundraising efforts at our upcoming Summer Swing Charity Golf Shield, taking place on Thursday 6th July at Mottram Hall.
To be involved, click here to find out more or email franklynevents@sjpp.