To help mark this year’s International Women’s Day, the Lord Mayor of Nottingham’s chosen charity, Nottingham Central Women’s Aid (NCWA), launched a Charity Ball with a difference. The Ball, took place on 21st April and had a Caribbean theme where guests were entertained with a steel band, limbo dancing and traditional Caribbean catering. The Ball’s headline sponsor is local company, Bridgeway Consulting Limited, who recently won The Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development, as well as being named in The London Stock Exchange’s Top 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain.

Bridgeway Consulting Limited said “We jumped at the chance of sponsoring NCWA’s Charity Ball, it’s a fantastic opportunity to support a local charity who provide such vital refuge and support services for women and children fleeing domestic abuse. As a business we initially decided to support the refuge before the Christmas period, collecting toys and gifts for donation. We now look forward to strengthening our relationship with the charity by being the headline sponsor for the Ball.”

Councillor Michael Edwards, The Lord Mayor of Nottingham, added “NCWA is a charity close to my heart and I see the impact of their work every day. I believe Caribbean food and music is integral to Nottingham’s culture – I think my influence helped sway the theme of the Charity Ball! The event promises to be great fun with a carnival atmosphere whilst raising funds for a serious cause.
The Caribbean Ball raised over £1,000 for the refuge and many prizes were donated for the raffle. Our Patron, Samantha Morton, attended on the evening and we received fantastic press in the Nottingham Post.

Established in the 1970’s, on average NCWA supports 50 women and 60 children a year, with six women and eleven children living with us at a time, plus emergency overnight stays. The need for the service has been clear throughout with many women and children being turned away from refuges across the country every day at their time of need. Many of our team including volunteers and our board of directors are survivors of domestic violence, we work to the ethos of ‘women supporting women’.