Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity raises £40,000 at Gala Dinner

Helen Clarke

The third annual charity dinner brought together over 350 guests from Greater Manchester's business community to unite in addressing the region's homelessness crisis.

A night filled with dinner, dancing, and a surprise DJ set from Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham raised an impressive £40,000 for the Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity - more than double the amount raised at the previous two events combined.

Hosted at New Century Hall, the event featured a delicious dinner, drinks, and a special performance from Manchester's own Mr Scruff.

Fran Darlington-Pollock, Chief Executive of the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, said: "From our generous sponsors to those who donated raffle prizes and bought tickets, thank you for your contributions - together, we can make our city-region a better place for everyone and put an end to homelessness.”

Guests were treated to a unique poem, A Bed Every Night, written specifically for the evening and performed by local community champion The Blind Poet.

Professional doodler Dave Draws created a live mural titled Show Me Home incorporating words contributed by attendees with the original artwork auctioned off for £6,000.

Tim Heatley, Chair of Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, said: "Beyond the glamour, the real success is the £40,000 raised for our A Bed Every Night programme, which will fund over 1,300 nights of support.

"That’s hundreds of people offered a warm bed, a hot meal, and, most importantly, access to life-changing support to help them take the next step towards a brighter future."