OnSide Ball Raises £1million for young people

“OnSide is becoming an unstoppable national movement for young people…one that the whole country can get behind. This £1million raised will not only change lives…..it will save lives. It’s not about how much we raised; it’s more about how the money will be spent.”

Those were the passionate words from renowned fundraiser Nick Hopkinson MBE whose joint efforts with co-organiser John Robinson, combined with the hugely generous support from over 600 current and future Youth Zone supporters, helped us raise £1million for our country’s young people at Saturday night’s prestigious OnSide Ball.

Despite Nick’s under-stated words regarding the amount raised; let’s be frank here…. raising £1million is no mean feat. But yes, this is the feat of the OnSide Network and our passionate and dedicated supporters. The huge amount of support we received at Saturday night’s OnSide Ball was truly heart-warming. Over 600 Youth Zone supporters united at our Chairman Bill Holroyd CBE DL’s beautiful home in Cheshire to enhance the future lives of young people across the United Kingdom.

Fancy a trip on a private jet or maybe dinner with cycling world champion, Mark Cavendish? How about a holiday for 10 in a luxurious Barbados Villa or two unobtainable limited edition Land Rover Defender Adventures? The calibre of auction prizes, donated by our kind supporters, went for big bucks, all in aid of young people!

At OnSide, young people are at the heart of everything we do, and members from across the network were of course on hand to entertain guests throughout the evening, as well as tell their uplifting stories as to the impact Youth Zones have on the lives of young people.

Nick Hopkinson MBE commented on the success of the ball: “Raising £1million in one evening is the combination of a huge amount of work by many kind hearted folks. We brought together wonderful people and showed them how they can make a difference to so many young people’s lives. There was no celebrity, no glitz and no Hello magazine…this was all about generous people giving to a great cause that delivers amazing opportunities to young people in a cost effective and proven way….that is backed up by independently certified results. We made people proud to be there, proud to donate and proud to be involved. OnSide is becoming an unstoppable national movement for young people…one that the whole country can get behind. This £1m will not only change lives…..it will save lives. It’s not about how much we raised; it’s more about how the money will be spent….John Robinson (joint organiser) and I keep pinching ourselves at the number of young people this will affect.”

The £1million raised will now be split between the OnSide network, including open and future Youth Zones in; Oldham (Mahdlo), Bolton, Manchester (The Factory), Wirral (The Hive), Wolverhampton (The Way), Wigan, Blackburn, Carlisle, Warrington, Preston, Chester and London.

Commenting on the event, Chairman Bill Holroyd CBE DL, said: “I am continually overwhelmed by the support we receive towards our ambitious mission of giving every child in the country a safe and inspiring place to go in their leisure time – it has been astounding. Who would have thought that our original twenty supporters would have increased to over six hundred in just seven years? More importantly, who would believe that we already provide over 20,000 young people with a better future since the doors opened? But we are not sitting on our laurels. Our vision is to have a Youth Zone in every town and city in the country. We cannot achieve our goals without the support of the private sector alongside the incredible dedication of our hard-working Youth Zone staff and the committed partnerships we have created; so I take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt thanks everyone who made the evening a huge success.”

Bring on the next OnSide Ball!

Thank you for your continued support.