Friday night at the Royal Hotel in Ventnor saw a gathering of around 160 people, as hotel owner William Bailey played host to the Inaugural IW Youth Trust Gala dinner and auction.
William, set himself a target of raising at least £30,00 for the Youth Trust, but we heard yesterday as the money was being totalled that this figure was well exceeded with over a whopping £35,000 raised, £16,100 of which was from the auction alone.
Where the money will go
The money will go towards a brand new initiative called ‘The Works’ which is being spearheaded by The IW Youth Trust.
Eileen Monks from the Youth Trust tells us that at the core of the project will be a programme called WISC (The Isle of Wight Intensive 12 Step Course).
This course is designed to tackle addiction in young people through a 12-step approach. Those on the course will explore the consequences of drug use and ways they can control their lives again. Support will also be given to encourage the affect young people tp move4 on with their lives and find routes to work or education.
Prizes galore
You might be asking yourself what some of the prizes were that managed to raise so much money for the Youth Trust.
A bonkers £9,000 was splashed out to have Michelin star chef, Robert Thompson, cook for the private dinner parties or two seperate groups – splitting the cost at £4,500 each.
Other prizes included a day out in a 1922 Silver Ghost Rolls Royce, an afternoon of garden consultancy with curator of Ventnor Botanic Gardens, Simon Goodenough, followed by cream tea prepared by Steve Botts – pattiserie chef at The Royal Hotel.
There were many generous donations provided for the auction from the likes of Liz Earle, The Spyglass Inn, The West Bay Club, Chewton Glen, Coombe Farm and Kings Manor Farm Shop to name but a few.
Image: Waldo Jaquith under CC BY-SA 2.0
