Our Supporters Party - 26th July 2018

On 26th July we had our first ever Supporters Party, held at the Parkside Tavern in Leeds. The main aim of our event was to show our appreciation for our fantastic supporters and volunteers. It was an excellent turnout and we would like to thank everyone who came. We hope everyone had a fun and enjoyable time.

Our Supporters Party gave us an opportunity to celebrate our supporters and thank them for all their help. This culminated in our very first volunteers and supporters awards, which saw us give out seven prizes on the night! Unfortunately, we were not able to give everyone who has supported us a prize, but we are immensely grateful to everyone who helps and supports us. The award winners were:

Long-term contribution: Our two longest-serving volunteers - Steve, who has been volunteering with us for 24 years, and Alastair, who has been volunteering with us for 12 years.

Outstanding contribution: Sam Toolsie, who supports the charity with her time and skills in a large variety of ways.

Most enthusiastic volunteer: Peter, one of our volunteers, who is always happy and willing to help us with anything, and always the first to say yes!

Most innovative fundraising idea: David Stoneman, who broke a Guinness World Record for the fastest person to run the London Marathon in their pyjamas, whilst also raising funds for Simon on the Streets.

Most innovative corporate support: Tim Collins, one of our long-term supporters, who received the award for his fair pay system, which leaves it to the client's judgement as to how much he will invoice them for. Whenever the pay is over his suggested fee, which is often, the excess amount is donated directly to Simon on the Streets.

Faith in Humanity: To Manjit, who runs the award-winning Manjit's Kitchen in Leeds Kirkgate Market, for her incredible reaction to an extremely negative experience. When she was abused by a homeless woman last year she decided to turn a negative experience into a positive one by running a charity raffle and raising nearly £6000 for Simon on the Streets, to help those in need.

We were lucky enough to have the excellent Kwizzbit provide us with their fantastic quizzes for the night. These interactive quizzes are played on your phone making them cheat-free and super fun, as you receive points not only for the right answer but how quickly you manage to click on it.

We also held a raffle, with a range of fantastic prizes kindly donated to us from various supporters, including The Reliance, Azendi, Bravissimo, Country Crust, Hilton Hotels, Flawless Photography, Loreal and champagne from Irwin Solicitors.

The night ended with rock and blues music from the band Snake Oil.

We hope you all had a great night and thank you so much to everyone who came. We look forward to next year's event!