Olympian lends support to ball in aid of charities (From Wiltshire Times)

Olympian lends support to ball in aid of charities

11:00pm Friday 10th February 2012 in Latest News

Two mothers have enlisted the help of former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies to publicise a charity ball which hopes to help secure the future of two local charities.

Emma Evans and Katie Pearson are organising the fundraiser in aid of West Wiltshire Portage and Stepping Stones on May 18 at Bradford on Avon’s Cumberwell Park.

Both charities support young children with special needs, providing assistance for them and their families.

Mrs Evans, 32, of Trowbridge Road, said: “We are just two mums who really want to help valuable charities in the community by organising this ball.

“Everything is going quite well and we’ve managed to get a lot of auction prizes, which is great, but we’d always welcome more, as well as any other help local businesses can provide.

“Recently, we’ve also had the added bonus of having Sharron Davies help us too. I contacted her about the fundraiser and she has been really keen to publicise it.”

Stepping Stones, in Trowbridge, is a centre for children with special needs where parents can take them four hours a week to have sessions with trained play workers.

Portage, which has been running for 30 years, is a home service where workers go out to visit children and their families and tailor sessions to suit their needs one-on-one.

They are partially funded by Wiltshire Council but the amount of funding they are given has been cut, putting their futures under threat.

Mrs Evans said: “Things are getting so severe for Portage that it might face closure if it doesn’t get the support it deserves. We just wanted to hold this event to raise as much as we can for both charities.”

Last week, Ms Davies met staff from Portage and Stepping Stones to learn more about what the charities do. She also donated £250 that she won on BBC game show Pointless, to be split between both causes.

She said: “Since I’ve moved to Bradford on Avon, I’ve said I was keen to help charities in any way I can.

“I’m hoping that a local company might come forward and sponsor the ball so that all the money from the night can go to the charities.”

For more information about donating auction prizes, sponsoring the ball or buying tickets, email themayballtickets @gmail.com or call Stepping Stones on 01225 350004.