The Children’s Charity Ball raised £190,000 for The Variety Charity at Thornton Hall Hotel, with auction prizes including limited edition prints of the Shankly Gates courtesy of artist Mackenzie Thorpe, Champions League final tickets, a private dinner with Jamie Carragher and a meet and greet package for four people at the Dancing on Ice final.
The special 15 hand embellished, limited edition prints of his Liverpool-FC inspired The Shankly Gates print, world-renowned artist Mackenzie Thorpe’s work raised £25,000, with the proceeds going towards the purchase of a Variety minibus for Hilbre School in West Kirby.
The limited edition prints depict a father and son, standing in front of the famous Shankly Gates at Anfield, the home of Liverpool FC. Every piece in this exclusive collection is unique, with the artist putting his own individual stamp on the pieces, adding a special personalised touch to this emotive image.
Event Organisers Mandy Molby and Claire Gallagher said: “Year on year our guests go above and beyond to support such fantastic causes and Saturday night was no different. From our donors, to those who attended the event and those who gave so generously to buy auction prizes, we can’t say thank you enough.
“We will continue to support those less fortunate than us in the Merseyside area through events like this and we are already planning ahead for 2020, to hopefully surpass the £190,000 raised this year.”
Mackenzie Thorpe said: “I’m thrilled that The Shankly Gates prints helped raise £25,000 for The Variety Children’s Charity Ball, and it is particularly fitting that this money will go directly towards helping disadvantaged children in the local area.
“The symbolism of the gates with those iconic ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ words above them, says everything there is to be said about this great city; it seems to me that the people of Liverpool never walk alone, the area is all about community, family, football and humour and I tried to capture a bit of these values in the piece.
“It is such a worthy cause and a great example of a community going that extra mile and supporting its young people.”
One of the biggest-selling British artists of the last 30 years, Mackenzie Thorpe was joined at the ball by an array of local celebrities including Liverpool FC’s CEO Peter Moore, footballers John Barnes and Jan Molby, Boyzone’s Shane Lynch and former X-Factor runner-up Marcus Collins.
Main image: Owen Drew & guests.
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