PEP students have raised more than £1500 for a children’s charity at their annual PEP Spring Ball.
The event dubbed “Puttin’ on the Ritz” raised £1,547.28 for Variety Yorkshire, the most ever been raised at a PEP event.
Ruchi Shah, an organiser of the event, told Vision: “We decided to put a lot more emphasis on the charity this year with the hope that people would be more willing to donate if they knew exactly what their money was going towards.
“Thanks to the hard work of all the committee, we managed to pull off the best PEP spring ball there has ever been.
“People even said it was the best night of the year so far. I’m so proud that we managed to raise such a huge amount for two really worthy causes.”
Money raised has been promised to fund two cases.
Donations were raised throughout the event by raffle tickets and by collection glasses and casino tables.
In a Facebook statement, the PEP committee announced: “The first is for a 2 year old girl who suffers from quadriplegic cerebral palsy, epilepsy, is registered blind and is gastrostomy fed.
“Variety have bought her sensory equipment to help stimulate her vision and help with therapy within the home.
“The second is for a 7 year old girl with cerebral palsy and profound learning difficulties.
“The money raised has gone towards a specialised seat and lap tray to give her the correct posture to help her play with her family and friends.”
Shah added: “Right from the beginning we had close contact with the charity, and it was great that one of the charity representatives was able to give a short speech at the event.
“I was honestly stunned at how generous people were on the night – money was literally just rolling in!
Rachel Smith, the current PEP treasurer agreed: “We all had a fantastic night, made extra special knowing we were raising money for a brilliantly valuable and necessary cause.
“I’m sure everyone who attended will be proud to have been part of such a successful evening for Variety.”
Variety Yorkshire works with local businesses and the community to raise funds to provide manual and powered wheelchairs, walking frames and other specialist equipment to children with disabilities.
Students who want to contribute to Variety Yorkshire can donate here.