NewsCharity Dinner View this story in PDF format (with full colour photos) by clicking HERE.Dnipro Appeal Fundraising I would like to use this opportunity to give an update on the recent fundraising efforts of the Dnipro Appeal. There was a nice article in the match programme for yesterdays Hibs v Aberdeen match but I’d like to try and go into a little more depth with this update. The article in the match programme can be found HERE. Turnstile Collections The fundraising kicked off on the 28th of September at Easter Road with a turnstile collection at the home game against Rangers. A fantastic effort from everyone saw the collection bring in around £1,400. Unfortunately the loss of our usual base combined with a shortage of volunteers on the day meant that it was not as good as pervious seasons but nevertheless it was an excellent start to the winter fundraising efforts for our Christmas projects. The following week saw the Aberdeen contingent mobilise in support of Dnipro Kids with a turnstile collection organised for the visit of Hibernian. A fantastic effort from the Aberdeen volunteers, along with some very generous donations from the Aberdeen support, saw over £1,000 added to the Christmas funds. Thanks to the time and effort of those involved, and the generosity of the supporters that donated, the £2,500 raised will be enough to cover the costs of Christmas presents and parties for all the kids at the Odinkovka and Tabachnaya orphanages in Dnipropetrovsk. Charity Dinner Of course many of you will have heard of the efforts that have gone into the Dnipro Appeal Charity Dinner that took place at the Sheraton Hotel in Edinburgh on the 6th of November. There was a huge amount of work put into this event by the Dnipro Appeal Committee, with special mentions to committee members Trish Divine and Babs McDonald. This event was without doubt the biggest task that the Dnipro Appeal had ever undertaken and with those involved having very little experience in the organisation of such an event it was indeed a testament to those involved that it all came together perfectly on the night. The evening opened with Grant Stott welcoming everyone and explaining the main purpose of the evening before meals were served. Grant followed up with a short, but very funny, after dinner speech before introducing Ex SPL Ref Kenny Clark who had us in stitches with some excellent insights into the beautiful game. This was followed up with vocals from local singer Iain Hunter. Often billed as one of the UK’s best Rat Pack Tribute singers, Iain performed an excellent repertoire of songs including some of the best Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra numbers around. Iain did not disappoint on the night and his songs had the dance floor overflowing. After Iains performance we swiftly moved onto the auction and the raffle, the main reason for the event obviously being to raise funds for the kids in Dnipropetrovsk. There was a excellent video presentation, compiled by Jim Divine, which explained to everyone exactly what the Dnipro Appeal was doing and how the support of those attending the dinner could help. Compere Grant Stott took control of the auction and did a fantast job at producing an auction frenzy, whilst providing some excellent entertainment during the proceedings. Both the auction and the raffle exceeded all expectations. There was a little bonus for those in attendance, as we were treated to a surprise visit from local lad Keith Jack. Keith was runner-up in ITV’s “Any Dream Will Do” competition and it was a fantastic gesture by Keith to come along to the Charity Dinner. A huge thank you to Keith, who even got involved in purchasing one of the auction prizes before taking the stage and giving a few songs. Not only was the Charity Dinner very entertaining but the event was also very successful with something around £12,500 being made from the event!! The feedback from most of those attending was that it is one of the best events they have been to and have suggested we make it an annual event. Latest News from Dnipro It has been a busy time for Ira in Dnipropetrovsk recently. Last week she took the kids from Odinkovka on a trip to the cinema. This trip was funded wholly by all those that are part of the child sponsorship scheme. I will try to get individual updates out to those that sponsor a child at the Odinkovka orphanage but I will attach a few photos from the trip until I manage to get that done. The film that the kids went to see was “Madagascar 2” and Ira informs us that the kids thoroughly enjoyed it, along with the McDonalds Happy Meals provided afterwards. We are very hopeful that we will soon have some good news similar to the happy ending we had when we finally managed to get little Princessa her eye operation (see previous dniprokids.com news story). Ira informs me that she is leaving for Kharkov (about 180 miles north of Dnipropetrovsk) on Monday along with Nastya Devyatova. Nastya will be getting admitted to the hospital in Kharkov where it is hoped she will undergo surgery to rectify her worsening hip problem. Unlike the Princessa operation which was completed within a couple of days, Nastya will have to spend months in hospital and undergo a few operations before her hip is properly repaired. We will keep everyone updated on how things progress in the coming moths. Yours, Steven Carr, Dnipro Appeal Committee. www.dniprokids.com |
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