Charity Gala Dinner. Commodity folks help raise funds to support Children's charity Dreams Come True

On Thursday 30th March, Commodity co-hosted the inaugural Dreams and Dreamers Gala Dinner of its charity partner Dreams Come True.

The gala was held at Madame Tussauds in London which had been transformed into an extraordinary venue for the children's charity.

On arrival, our guests enjoyed a history tour of the capitol in a special London taxi. Then we were walked through the museum to a champagne welcome, rubbing shoulders with waxwork stars ranging from Barack Obama to the Beckhams.

A number of our clients and their companions joined us for a superb dinner on the main floor of the iconic wax museum. It was quite surreal to look around during the evening and see the Beatles, Donald Trump, Boris Becker and endless other celebrities.

The gala was hosted by Dreams Come True’s Royal Patron, HRH Princess Michael of Kent. She was clearly passionate about the charity and gave a stirring speech,

"Everyone has a dream, and fulfilling one's dream is powerful and transformative. For children and young people with serious and life threatening conditions, it gives a chance to achieve, to learn, to grow and to accomplish. It gives empowerment, independence and control in their lives and a sense of normal-ness for the whole family"

The guests on the night raised over ￡125,000 for the children’s charity. It was a fabulous result and the money will go towards making the dreams come true of 100 children and young people with serious and life limiting conditions.

The royal host introduced an evening of entertainment, powerful stories and speeches. There was a superb performance by Chickenshed, a theatre group that brings individuals from all kinds of background together to make theatrical productions.

We heard from trustees of the charity as well as families of Dreams children and indeed from the children themselves.

We heard from Jenny who at the age of 16 was left paralysed after a bike accident. Her positive approach to life was evident in her speech where she talked of the role the charity played in supporting her in her recovery. It was hugely inspiring.

Then there was Rachel who gave us a such a beautiful, heartfelt and incredibly sad account of her family's journey as her boy Myles was diagnosed with a rare cancerous tumour at the age of two. The Dream here was a family day out to the Zoo.

The story was as lovely and fun as it was heart-wrenching. Those of you who plan to partake in the London marathon -- keep an eye out for Rachel as she will be running too.

Commodity has been an active supporter of this charity since 2015. Commodity CEO Jakob Bloch joined their fundraising board in 2016 to help push a number of initiatives to grow the reach and capability of the charity. The board is made up of selected individuals from various businesses.

The gala was the first event planned under the new board.

We would like to give a warm thank you to all of you who have supported this initiative.

Of course our sincere thanks go to those who so generously gave of their time to be with us on the evening, but also to those many people who were not able to make it on the night but who kindly made donations in lieu. It really is a wonderful cause and we are proud to have played a part in this spectacular evening.

 All photos except the one from MDS are copyright of Andy Cracknell