Dancing Strictly-style at Stick ‘n’ Step!

We held a stunning 'Strictly Come Dancing' themed fundraising event at Thornton Hall Hotel, Neston last weekend and raised over £45,000, including more than £10,000 in sponsorship from our eight intrepid contestants.

Eight volunteers, each partnered with a professional dancer, put on their dancing shoes and strutted their stuff on the dancefloor. The amateur contestants had taken dance classes over the previous weeks to perfect their routine and the results were truly incredible. 

A beautiful dance was performed by some of our young people with cerebral palsy who attend our centres in Runcorn and Wallasey. This was followed by the main dance competition in front of an enthusiastic audience and the critical eyes of a panel of four judges. 

Vikki Howden, a paralegal who works at Graystons, and her professional partner Mario, wowed the judges and audience alike with their beautiful waltz to Disney favourite ‘Can you feel the love tonight’ from The Lion King. Despite not having danced since childhood, Vicky’s style and grace secured her the top spot on the leader board and she was awarded the glitter ball trophy at the end of the night. 

The People’s Choice Award went to Shannon Sample, one of our classroom assistants, who danced a fabulously dramatic paso doble to ‘Backstage Romance’ from Moulin Rouge with her professional partner Joel.An auction and a raffle rounded off the evening, emceed by our wonderful host Billy Hui, who has supported us for many years. Currently serving as the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside, he is the founder and musical director of the multi-award winning SingMe Merseyside Choir and can be heard on his weekly shows on BBC Radio Merseyside.

Joanne Fowler, our Corporate Fundraiser, said,

Everything we do at Stick ‘n’ Step is designed to help children and young people, who are living with cerebral palsy, to become more mobile, more confident, and more independent - ultimately helping them to reach their personal potential and to go on to live a more independent life. All this work takes time and many of the children we work with will attend Stick 'n' Step sessions for many years. “Without the efforts and generosity of our supporters, we simply couldn't do what we do. We are so grateful to everyone for their support.

Don’t forget, £750,000 is required to deliver our services to over 100 families each year at our Wallasey and Runcorn centres. Find out more about fundraising for us by going to: https://www.sticknstep.org/support-us/