You all know that here at Virgin Balloon Flights, we Love our Landscape over which we fly, and we want all of you to share this love with us too! more(Because it’s good to share, right?!) This is why last year, we launched our ‘Love our Landscape’ campaign in which we would be caring and supporting the British landscape, and ensuring that we encourage others to join us in doing so. As part of this campaign, we set 10 promises, one of which was to raise £10,000 for the two charities we are supporting, the Prince’s Countryside Fund and the Wildlife Trusts. So, rising to the challenge and determined to keep to that promise, we started to plan a Charity Auction and Dinner.
After months of planning and a few days of running around like headless chickens, the day finally came last Friday for the Charity Auction & Dinner to take place. Out came the ball gowns and suits and us and our wonderful guests were ready to start bidding. Up for grabs were some fabulous auction lots, many of which were provided by other members of the Virgin family; a trip to New York courtesy of Virgin Atlantic, a weekend in London provided by Virgin Trains and even a stay at Sir Richard Branson’s luxurious Moroccan Retreat ‘Kasbah Tamadot’ supplied by Virgin Limited Edition.
The event took place at Madeley Court Hotel in Telford, just down the road from our Shropshire HQ. Guests were greeted by a fabulous swing band, Down for the Count, with whom we had worked before, who set the scene perfectly for a night of dancing that was still to come. Guests were also able to enjoy a photo booth provided by Ida Pod, a Virgin Start Up company, which allowed them to get snap happy on the night (with the help of a few props) and have their photos printed there and then as a perfect souvenir of the evening.
Next came the delicious three course meal and time for people to decide what they were going to bid for, and it seems we gave them plenty of time as when the auction started the bids were flying! Our auction was hosted by David McQueen, a host who has worked with Sir Richard Branson before, and who definitely knew how to get the crowd going! Once the auction was over, the music started playing and the guests quite literally danced the night away to the classics: Abba, Spice Girls, need we say anymore?! Nobody can resist a bit of cheese!
It’s safe to say that a great night was had by all, with an amount of money being raised that will definitely be of benefit to the two charities. Everyone at Virgin Balloon Flights would like to thank everyone who helped us with this event, and we are most definitely looking forward to future activity in support of the Love our Landscape campaign!