Formby couple’s first virtual event raised £10,000 for Rainbow Hub

Formby couple, Lisa and Paul Maddison, normally hold a spectacular annual ball for Rainbow Hub, the charity supporting children and young people with physical and neurological disabilities where their daughter, Katie (14) has attended conductive education for the past 13 years.

But they were not going to be beaten when it could not go ahead this year due to the pandemic and came up with a fantastic idea for a virtual event which raised £10,000 for the charity.

Their “Drop the ball” quiz night was sponsored by Luke Martin, MD of TSF Group and involved families taking part through a Zoom event with two Marathon question rounds including general knowledge and music. The winner of the quiz was Dr Peter Williams from Formby and the Best Dressed Team was won by Lindsey, Peter, Charlie and Henry Knowles also from Formby. They all won hampers of drinks and chocolate.

A fantastic auction added to the evening with prizes including football boots signed by Adam Lallana; a monthly floral arrangement for a year from Flowerstyle by Laurie; Prosecco hamper; two professional wine tasting and food evenings for 4 (when restrictions lift); Football and photo signed by Leighton Baines; single malt whisky; Prosecco, white wine and chocolate hamper; together with four prizes donated by HSBC - 2 tickets for Chester Zoo, Family ticket for Farmer Ted’s, Wine & chocolates hamper and a stunning diamond earrings, pendant and ring set. Lisa Maddison said, “We want to thank everyone who joined us online and took part and special thanks to Luke Martin of TSF Group and Annette Mullan of HSBC and everyone who donated auction prizes for their support. We were disappointed that we could not hold our annual ball but we had a great evening and a fabulous result for Rainbow Hub.”

Luke Martin, MD TSF Group, added “'TFS Group is one of the largest facility service providers in the UK, operating in every major city and employing several hundred employees. We regard our ability to provide financial support to charities, both locally and internationally a cornerstone of our success. The global pandemic caused significant disruption to charities all over the world, in both service delivery and revenue streams. We are therefore delighted to continue our financial support for Rainbow Hub, to help preserve the vital therapeutic services they provide to children and young adults with neurological conditions'.

Lyndsay Fahey, Interim CEO at Rainbow Hub, said “We are over the moon at receiving such a fantastic amount and send a massive thank you to Lisa and Paul for hosting the event; TFS Group and HSBC for their support and to everyone who took part. It was a really enjoyable evening with plenty of fun and laughter.

Lisa was so disappointed at not being able to host her annual ball this year but quickly came up with this idea to raise much needed funds. With all of our events having to be cancelled we are facing challenging times so this makes such a difference to our ability to continue to provide the services which change the lives of the children and families we support.”

Anyone who would like to find out more about Rainbow Hub or support them should visit www.rainbowhub.org