Crystal Ball raises the roof, awareness and money
A Ball is not a Ball without great food, fantastic wines, great company and wonderful entertainment.
Held at the luxurious 5 star Sofitel Hotel in Heathrow, London on Saturday 2nd March and attended by over 200 guests, the Crystal Ball kicked off with a stunning drinks reception, followed by a sumptuous three course meal and fabulous night of entertainment and fun-packed fundraising.
With the help of generous donors, sponsors, supporters and guests the evening raised an incredible £33,500! Enotria World Wine also presented a cheque for over £17,000 which was raised by the company and its employees during 2012, 24 guests committed to raising over £500 each during 2013 and 2 companies chose Taylan’s Project as their charity of the year, as well as Enotria continuing to offer its support during 2013 again.
A direct plea was made for funding and guests made a pledge to help purchase a vital piece of equipment for the University of Portsmouth – home base
for patient biopsy tissue storage and cell culture establishment and Centre of Excellence. The University will now have the ability to send extremely valuable tissue and cells to other brain tumour scientists and provide a reliable and traceable system with a full audit trail with history capabilities that will make a huge difference.
Colin Brown – ex jockey who is best known for winning 17 races on the unforgettable Desert Orchid hosted the event which included performances by Daniel Cutting - 4 time Guinness World Record Holder and Ambassador for Taylan’s Project, a floor filling performance by Madhen who really brought the house down and auctioned off the jacket of one of their lead singers right at the end of the evening and an amazing Live Auction conducted by the one and only expert auctioneer Jonty Hearnden.
An incredible array of auction items, kindly donated by generous donors included VIP hospitality at Ascot, holidays in Miami, Europe and the Carribean, beautiful pieces of art, Masterchef in your home and many more money can’t buy experiences.
Figen and Andy – parents of Taylan, are overwhelmed and constantly in awe of the fantastic support received and the monies raised will make a huge 
difference to helping to find a cure for brain tumours and will able Taylan’s Project to continue supporting families and terminally ill children financially.
Heartfelt speeches, presentations and pledges took place throughout the evening and one guest said "I can’t remember a night like it. I cried, I laughed, I learned, I met new people and danced to my feet hurt....but most of all I know many people, including me, made a personal commitment to raise awareness and money for the cause this year. Now the work starts for us!"
Taylan’s Project also became the first ever ‘Research Champion’ and were presented with a glass keepsake by Brain Tumour Research Chairman, Wendy Fulcher and Patron, Ian Reddington. The awards means that with the help and support from everyone over the years, Taylan’s Project are now in a position to fund a scientist for a three year time frame and be acknowledged in any scientific papers published as a result of the research findings. This is a huge milestone and know Taylan would be extremely proud.
Figen and Andy would like to thank each and every one of you for helping, attending, supporting, and sponsoring the event and continuously being part of such a worthy cause, in memory of such a wonderful child who is creating an incredible and lasting legacy which will help others.
Photos courtesy of Pellier Noir
