Ray Quinn was the star of the show at the recent Cheshire Christmas Ball in Chester, with the singer helping the organisers raise thousands of pounds for the charity Kick4Life.
The X Factor and Dancing on Ice star performed a medley of swing classics and songs from his recent EP Old Soul, Young Blood to more than 100 guests at the Cheshire View Banqueting Suites.
The event was organised by Ray’s cousin Kevin Tasker and his partner Ellie Hunt, in an effort to raise money to fund a trip with Kick4Life to Lesotho, Southern Africa. The charity delivers life-saving health education, testing and mentoring programmes to help combat HIV and AIDS.
Lesotho has the world’s second highest rate of HIV in the world, with approximately 25% of the population being HIV positive.
After months of organisation and promotion, the event proved to be a massive success, with £2,800 pounds raised towards their target of £5,000.
Kevin said: “We are absolutely delighted with how things have gone tonight. It’s been a busy few months making the event a reality, but it’s definitely been worth the hard work.
“We’ve had such fantastic support from our friends and family in putting this together, with all of the acts, including Ray, performing for free, giving up their time for rehearsals and travelling across the country just to be here tonight.
“Obviously, Ray was the star of the show but all of the acts were absolutely exceptional. We’ve had fantastic feedback from guests who attended the evening and managed to raise a large amount of money towards our funding target, so we couldn’t be happier.
“I’d also like to say a big thank you to the Cheshire View venue and their staff, who have been fantastic.”
On the night, Ray told the crowd how happy he was to be involved in the event.
He said: “Everyone knows that tonight has been organised by Kevin, who’s my cousin, so when he asked me to get involved I was honoured. I know he and Ellie have put in a massive amount of work to make all of this happen, so it’s been a pleasure for me to be here tonight and support such a fantastic cause as Kick4Life.”
Other performances on the evening included a freestyle football performance, an opera singing performance from Holli Pendleton and a Beguiled Burlesque Dance show performed by dancers from Chester dance group House of Dance, led and choreographed by Julie Guile.
The event also included a raffle which raised £600 on the night, with the top prizes including tickets to see Ray perform as Aladdin at The Empire Theatre this Christmas.
Kick4Life’s co-founder Steve Fleming said: “We are delighted with the work Kevin and Ellie have put in to raise this money, which helps fund our essential work in Lesotho, where we use the power of football to help combat HIV & AIDS, an illness which has impacted on the country and its people so much, with over 166,000 children being orphans as a direct result. I’d like to say a massive thank you to Kevin, Ellie, Ray and all the other performers for contributing to this fantastic event.”
For more information on Kick4Life visit www.kick4life.org and to donate towards Kevin and Ellie’s cause, visit www.justgiving.com/Ellie-Hunt .
