On Saturday May 16, over 360 guests attended the Unicorn Foundation annual Sydney Cocktail Party at the IVY Ballroom in Sydney.
Guests were greeted by Cos Play characters Jack Sparrow, Ironman, Wonder Woman, Zena Warrior Princess and the Green Lantern using their skills to sell raffle tickets and pose for pictures.
There were incredible prizes up for grabs and we thank our donors Brett and Zahra Godfrey for their generosity in providing exclusive use of Richard Branson’s Australian Island, Make Peace Island, which sold for $16,000 at Auction as well as a multi-night guided walk of the picturesque Cradle Mountain. Once again Andrew Badgery and Solutions 2 Retirement were our main sponsor and without his support the night would not be possible. We thank all our main auction prize donors Deutsche Bank, oOh Media, Fujitsu, artist Willy Sheather, Jane and Andrew Bare’, and TAB.com.au. Special thanks also to our raffle and silent auction donors: V8 Supercars, Telstra, Naomi Hamilton Photography, Carlton United Breweries, Waratahs, ANZ Stadium, Avene, Fitness First, Camilla, Kim and Tim Delaney, Commonwealth Bank, China Doll Restaurant, Vanessa Megan, Strand Bags, The Burt Family, Alkaline, The Mundell Family and Foot Locker.
Dr Nick Pavlakis (Chief Investigator – CONTROL NETs) gave the audience an update on the clinical trial which drove home why we were there and what the money would be spent on. Grant Mundell and his gorgeous wife Vanessa shared first hand their journey with NET Cancer and we thank them for their honesty, bravery and support. Your speech, Grant, reinforced why we work so hard to make change for people with NETs.
We sold over 150 balloons throughout the night which looked fantastic as guests mingled with them attached to their wrists. One contained the lucky number 60 (the number of patients to be part of the initial CONTROL NETs trial) that won them a gorgeous diamond necklace donated by Fili Jewellery of Adelaide.
Thank you to Charlotte Rhiane for her beautiful solo and for bravely talking about her dad’s journey with NET Cancer. Thank you to DJ Stuart Ridley and his wife Emma who were fabulous in getting guests up and dancing and I know there were are lot of sad people when we had to pull the pin! Andrew Hearne once again worked his auctioneering magic with the main auction raising over $30,000 alone. Board member and MC for the night, Kate McGrath, kept the audience in line with her wit and heartfelt delivery and for that we are so grateful as it is often a very difficult job!
We were lucky to have attend the winners of 2015 My Kitchen Rules, Will and Steve , who were such great sports posing for so many photos and drawing out the raffle winners. Thanks guys for providing your time to our event.
We had patients travel in from around the country to be part of the night which was extra special. It was such an amazing opportunity to meet many of you face to face and we appreciate the effort it took to get there on the night.
With the end result of over $70,000 raised on the night we are thrilled to be able to contribute this to the CONTROL NETs clinical trial. Without the support of the above and the tireless work of volunteers: Vanessa Mundell, Kim Ostach, Kim Delaney, Caroline Guerbet, Ros Leyden, Deb Mundell, Breanna Slattery, Deb Burdett, Eileen and Andy Marti, Bec Carnovale, Nat and Dave Shergold. However, the night would not have been possible without the hard work of Brydie Bucknall who pulled the event together.
We could not be happier with the night’s result and we thank everyone for making it such a special event! Till next time!
Simone Leyden Dr John Leyden
CEO The Unicorn Foundation Chariman The Unicorn Foundation
