It was a glorious evening on the sunny South Coast as Patrons and supporters of the Knights Foundation made their way to the new Southampton Harbour Hotel for this Summers big event - the Knights Foundation Summer Ball 2018!

Take a peek at our wonderful video of the evening here!

Great effort leading up to the event had been driven by our team; Nicky, Natasha, Steph and Tony and all of the preparation, planning and hard work was starting to come alive!

The excellent support from our event planners and the staff at the Harbour Hotel in helping preparing the venue was greatly appreciated as we counted down to another prestigious Knights Foundation event, with a stunning room and facilities to support it.

It was a beautiful sunny day, which in turn would bring rays of sunshine from those on board with The Knights Foundation, those attending this event and those sponsoring it!  As ever, we are hugely grateful to Memco for their time and donations and continuous support they give us and thank you to Steve Barter from SB Selected Beauty for the wonderful table gifts. We are overwhelmed by everybody's generosity - without you, we couldn't bring joy to so many children and families.

We were proud to have representatives from Portesbery School join us on the evening. Portesbery is an all age day school (2 -19 years) catering for children and young people with Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD) - Pupils may have additional sensory impairments, physical difficulties or challenging behaviour. We have been privileged to visit Portesbery School on numerous occasions and understand some challenges they face as a school. This is why it gave us and Kathryn Carter, Wentworth's Ladies Captain, absolute pleasure to present them with a standing frame, to support the users at school to be safely raised from sitting to standing and then to be positively supported during their standing program. This brings with it a unique expansion in confidence for the disabled child and a different look on life on a higher level.  A deserving round of applause and gratitude was shown to one of our Patrons Steve French of Starlane Insurance, who has gone above and beyond supporting our charity. With thanks again Steve… and a very special mention for your fabulous suit!! 

As if the above wasn't substantial, we were then treated to fantastic entertainment from a great comedian Kev Orkian, who had us all laughing in our seats (some uncontrollably!) followed by amazing operatic singers who blew us all away!  The acoustics in this room were simply amazing and it gave us goosebumps to hear them sing the likes of 'Barcelona' and 'Nessun Dorma' - they deservedly got a standing ovation, and a huge hug from host Nicky Banger! We were thoroughly spoilt with the evenings entertainment!

Nicky hosted the auction with an incredible range of prizes on offer, even trips to Base Camp Everest! The evening was played out with the fabulous Wonderband who had everyone on the dance floor until the wee hours!

Earlier in the evening we were evident to a video presentation showcasing the works of The Knights Foundation over the last 12 months. It is not until we have the opportunity to stop and watch a video such as this, that we realise the extent of what The Knights Foundation achieves - it really is absolutely amazing!!! 

We also have some wonderful fundraising opportunities to look forward to. Tony and Jamie Knights, will be cycling from Lands End to John O'Groats in August (a whopping 874 miles!) and we are absolutely delighted that Jon Cowell (who has represented Great Britain 24 times and the holder of two world records) is taking on a mammoth challenge for us; running 66 miles over the Lake District, climbing 42 peaks whilst climbing a total of 27,000 ft in only 24 hours!!!!! Wow Jon, we are in awe of you and are right behind you (in spirit of course!!). Thank you so much Tony, Jamie and Jon.

In summary of our Summer Ball; our evening was filled with some of the most kindest, decent, greatest natured and fun people we could ever ask for. The Knights Foundation Summer Ball allowed for like minded people to come together to reflect the difference we are making to these children and their families and schools. It is so nice to be nice and makes us feel great.

Thank you everyone.

#WeRiseByLiftingOthers