On Saturday 5 September, 171 members, families, friends, supporters, businesses, sponsors, staff and volunteers came together at Leicester Racecourse for what many affectionately regard simply as our ‘Ball’.
It is our biggest community fundraising event of the year, but it is about so much more than raising money. The Ball is a rare opportunity for the Headway Leicester friends and family to come together: to eat, drink, dance, laugh, celebrate and, most importantly, to recognise the people at the heart of what we do; people living with brain injury, their families and carers, and the remarkable community around them.
The evening was hosted by our compere, Dylan Matheison-Dodd (a bit of a hero in his own right as a public speaker, trainer and autism advocate for 12 years), who guided guests through a packed programme of entertainment, fundraising and stories.
One of the evening’s speakers was Oliver Boyden, a former jockey whose career was brought to an early end in his twenties following a brain injury. Oliver shared his experience and gave guests an insight into the impact a brain injury can have and the journey that can follow, and safe to say he inspired everyone in the room!
We were also treated to a special Members Showcase, giving our members the opportunity to share their experiences and offer guests a real sense of what Headway is, what we do and, most importantly, the people behind the organisation. This year, the showcase was pre-recorded and filmed by Dave Woollatt, who also generously volunteered as our photographer for the evening.
The fundraising ran throughout the evening, with guests getting involved in a variety of ways.
Our Silent Auction once again showcased the incredible generosity of businesses and individuals across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Among the prizes were a Signet Spa Day at Barnsdale Hall Hotel; a race day for two at Leicester Racecourse with full hospitality; gifts and artwork from Lilypad Art Gallery and All Wrapped Up, All Dressed Up in Lutterworth; three hours of cleaning from Home Harmony Cleaning; a round of crazy golf for four at Cosmic Golf Leicester; two annual passes for the National Space Centre; and a Pork Pie Hamper from Ye Olde Pork Pie Shoppe, which can be delivered right up to Christmas Eve.
The Live Auction took fundraising up another notch this year, brilliantly led by Irita Marriott of Melbourne Antiques. Irita, a leading female auctioneer, TV personality and familiar face from Bargain Hunt and Antiques Road Trip, brought her expertise, energy and unmistakable character to the room. She did a fantastic job of encouraging the bids and helping us maximise the funds raised from every lot.
Among the Live Auction prizes were two pairs of tickets to see Kasabian, complete with VIP backstage passes and merchandise; a four-night stay at Roots at the Beeches; and a two-night stay at the stylish Fox’s Furrows Glamping in Leicestershire, complete with its own Jacuzzi.
Our Neurogrid fundraising game also returned. Guests could choose an automatically generated square for the chance to win four Leicester City Football Club tickets with hospitality, another fantastic prize generously donated to support Headway Leicester.
Across the fundraising activities on the night, we raised more than £5,000, with the final total exceeding £6,000 including Gift Aid. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who bought a ticket, placed a bid, entered the Neurogrid, bought raffle tickets or simply encouraged someone else to take part.
Around all that fundraising we also had the entertainment, which began with Jamini and Jessica, whose father is a Headway member. They brought Bollywood dancing to the Ball and got the evening off to a fantastic start.
Later, we were entertained by the brilliant Ki2Met, who were joined for a few songs by an old friend of the band and someone who is also very much part of the Headway family.
And we also premiered something particularly special.
Our Thursday Day Service group has been working on their own musical creation, and the group now proudly known as The Thursday Throat Scratchers, rewrote and performed their own version of Three Wheels on My Wagon, renamed Three Wheel on My Wheelchair. The song came about, in part, as a dedication to the memory of Neil Segrott, making the performance an especially poignant moment in the evening.
The Ball brought together people from every part of our Headway community: people living with brain injury, their families and carers, friends, businesses, sponsors, health sector colleagues, staff and volunteers.
We were delighted to be joined by the talented people at Affinity Law and Nelsons, who support Headway Leicester throughout the year through workplace fundraising, challenges and other activities including a chap who threw himself out of plane for us; skydiving for sponsorship!
We are also hugely grateful to the team at Leicester Racecourse, who helped us every step of the way, in the lead-up to the event and throughout the evening itself. The setting was glorious, the service was excellent and the food was genuinely delicious, all contributing to make the night such a success.
We celebrated the work of Headway Leicester, the people we support and the challenges they face. We recognised the courage, resilience and individuality of the people we meet every day. The evening itself is about the families and carers, volunteers and staff, businesses and professionals who choose to stand alongside us.
And it is about having one night when all those different people can come together as one community to celebrate what has been achieved, to raise vital funds for the year ahead and, quite simply, to enjoy being together, to laugh, sing, dance and even outbid one another!
Thank you to everyone who made our Ball 2026 such a memorable evening and all those behind the scenes in the lead up. We couldn’t do it without you.
As I’m already excited about next year, please may I ask you to save the date; Saturday 11th September 2027!