Spring is a good time of year. Lighter nights, certainly, warmer days, possibly, but one thing that is certain every year is that it is the time that I begin to assign the funds that were raised at the previous year’s Michael Josephson Charity Ball, to the various causes I have chosen to support.

As most of you will know, we raised over £750K this at the event which is absolutely incredible, it couldn’t have been done without the support of all brands and organisations involved but also without the amazing guests who bought tickets and donated money.

So far I have had the pleasure of donating £688K to charities that are designed to support young people and children. These include Variety, the Children’s Charity (of which I am Chair of Patrons), Rainbow Trust, Mahdlo Youth Zone, The Anne Frank Trust, The Fed’s Project Smile, the LGBT Foundation and ACT. I was also able to donate £5K to the Manchester Evening News Christmas appeal, which went to Humans MCR to help feed hundreds of families across the city.

Something new this year, which I am really excited about is that I have also created a fund of £10,000 which has been released to help local charities that are struggling to meet demand in the midst of the deepening cost-of-living crisis, which is tightening its grip on the most vulnerable in the community. We will be inviting children’s charities in the North West to apply for one-off grants of up to £1,000.

We really are in such a fantastic position to help even more people, thanks to the generosity of everyone involved in the ball – this is what can be achieved and why we must continue to show up and work hard. We know how difficult it is for so many families at the moment and I want to empower local charities who are out there on the front line, helping children and young people in our communities, who are struggling the most.

It’s my hope that this fund will go some way to bridging the gap for local charities and help them to continue their vital work in the region.

Charities interested in applying to receive a grant of up to £1,000 can nominate themselves for consideration by providing details of how they would use the cash and how it will directly impact children and young people in the region.