Local Charity Charlie House hosts their first large-scale in-person event in almost 3 years
On Friday the 25th of March, local children’s charity Charlie House welcomed around 300 guests to their first annual Fizz & Fashion Friday event in 3 years raising over £13,000 towards their work. Charlie House supports babies, children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, and their families, in the North-east of Scotland.
Perfectly time ahead of Mother’s Day, this is the seventh Fizz & Fashion event, which had been postponed twice due to COVID-19 restrictions. Held at The Chester Hotel and hosted by Kevin Littlejohn of Right Here Productions, guests enjoyed an afternoon of entertainment and fashion, alongside a glass of fizz and delicious two course lunch.
Fizz & Fashion Friday is as much about celebrating the families supported by Charlie House as it is about enjoying the fizz. During the event, two special catwalks gave mums supported by Charlie House services a rare opportunity to take centre stage, modelling the latest day and evening fashion by Style for Your Shape and shoes and accessories from Hamish Munro.
Speaking of her day of pampering and limelight, one of the mums said, “I have no self-confidence, especially body confidence. [Fizz & Fashion] helped give me a confidence boost by pushing me out of my comfort zone. I don't get time to pamper myself often.”
Another of the mums joining the charity ahead of Mother’s Day said, “I wanted to do something fun and exciting just for me!”
Tracy Johnstone, Chair and Founder of Charlie House said, “There was a real buzz in the room at this event, everyone seemed to be delighted to be back, enjoying the fizz and each other’s company. Most importantly, it gave us the opportunity to recognise why Charlie House exists – for the families we support. It was beautiful to witness each brave mum as they strutted their stuff today.”
“We are delighted with the support we have received from guests at this event and would like to say a huge thank you to them for turning out and making this another amazing year of Fizz & Fashion! We couldn’t be more proud of the work we do to support North East mums.”
All funds raised from the event will go directly to Charlie House and support local families.
The dream of Charlie House has always been to build a dedicated support centre in Aberdeen so that families do not need to travel over 100 miles from Aberdeen to receive the support they need. In 2018, Charlie House launched the Big Build Appeal to raise £8m for the project and is very close to reaching the halfway point thanks to the generosity of the people of Aberdeen, and beyond.
Speaking of the support she has received, one of the mums volunteering their time at the event said, “{Charlie House} helps in so many ways, from the activities they offer to feel included and give us a break from normality, to little pamper packs in the post to make us feel special. And certainly not least, the emotional support, it really has been an important aspect of our lives. We are really looking forward to the specialist support centre opening.”
Charlie House would like to acknowledge the incredible support from sponsors Scott James & Associates and Maritime Developments Limited, Style for Your Shape, Hamish Munro and RR Make Up for making the mums feel special, Right Here Productions and The Chester Hotel for hosting and AV duties, Reach Video for video production and Abermedia for taking incredible photographs throughout the day, Preloved & Privileged for donating raffle prizes, Compass Print for printed materials and finally, stallholders 13 23 Jewellery and Tipsy House candles.
Find out more about how you can support Charlie House at www.charliehouse.org.uk or by calling 01224 313333.
