Manchester United Footballer Mason Mount, iconic singer Lulu, TV personalities Joel Dommett, Dr Ranj, Amber Turner, Vanessa Feltz and others joined Simon to help raise vital funds.
On Monday 4 March, Simon Cowell welcomed over 200 guests to Together for Short Lives’ annual Ball to raise money for the UK’s 99,000 seriously ill children and their families. With support from headline sponsor Morrisons and partner OK! Magazine, the Ball has so far raised over £300,000 for the leading children’s palliative care charity, with more still to come.
Hosted by Simon, a Patron of Together for Short Lives for 15 years, the money raised from the Ball will go towards ensuring that Together for Short Lives’ Family Support Hub, can continue to give families of children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions emotional, practical, and financial help.
There are currently over 99,000 babies, children and young people diagnosed with a life-limiting and life-threatening condition in the UK, and each year over 3,000 of them die due to these health conditions.
Families going through this unimaginable heartbreak face isolation, financial struggles, while balancing a variety of complex caring needs. They are confronted with a range of challenges beyond their control, including not being able to access essential care and support systems. Together for Short Lives provides direct support to these families, while raising vital funds for children’s palliative care and campaigning for lasting change to the sector.
Simon Cowell, Patron of Together for Short Lives, said: “One of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt from my time as Patron of Together for Short Lives is that time, no matter how long or short it may be, is the most precious thing. For the families of seriously ill children, they have to take each day as it comes, because they often don’t know what tomorrow will bring. For them, every moment is a gift.
“I am extremely grateful to everyone who came out to support the event and made donations, which will help towards relieving some of the practical realities that so many of these families are experiencing right now, allowing them to focus on spending time together and make memories they can treasure forever. Thank you to everyone and I urge all who can to continue helping these families to get the support they need every day.”
Guests were transported into an enchanted woodland at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel in Mayfair, where they rubbed shoulders with woodland nymphs, centaurs and faeries. They were joined by special guests, including fellow Together for Short Lives Patron
Mason Mount,
TV presenters and medics Dr Ranj Singh and Dr Philippa Kaye, TV personality Amber Turner, TV chef Marcus Bean, Dancing on Ice star Claire Sweeney, TV personality and model Christine McGuiness. Also in attendance was actress Emma Barton, TV personality and broadcaster Vanessa Feltz, Traitors star Amanda Lovett, Interior Designer Kelly Hoppen and the night’s compère Joel Dommett.
After dinner, guests were treated to a headline performance from iconic singer Lulu, which was her penultimate before her approaching retirement. Up-and-coming DJ KC Leigh followed with a showstopping set, which kept guests partying until the early hours.
Guests were moved to tears by mum Manraj, who shared her journey of caring for her son Arjun. Arjun suffered a brain haemorrhage at birth and died at 17 years old on Valentines Day in 2020. Manraj spoke about the challenges she faced in being Arjun’s advocate and coordinating his care, working a full-time job and raising her two other children, all while knowing Arjun would die young.
Manraj, from Harrogate, said: “Sharing Arjun’s story and knowing that he continues to make an impact on the world after his death means everything to me.
“The physical and mental demand of caring for a seriously ill child is relentless and the weight of responsibility you feel when being a dying child’s advocate is both overwhelming and immensely isolating. As someone who has gone through this with my son, it is my purpose to ensure that every family, regardless of their personal situation, should have the care and support they need at every stage of their child’s short life.”
Manraj and Andy
Andy Fletcher, Chief Executive of Together for Short Lives, said: “When a family hears the news that their child has a life-limiting condition, their whole world is turned upside down. They suddenly have to navigate a maze of medical and social services, and many parents have to give up their job to care for their child, putting them under huge financial strain. That is why Together for Short Lives exists – to offer support to families in their time of need, to raise vital funds for the services which support them, and to advocate for better children’s palliative and end of life care so that children and families get support, when and where they need.
“We are so grateful to everyone who so generously donated their time, money and services to raise such a life-changing amount tonight, which will help us be there for families like Manraj’s at every step, every milestone and every heartbreak – from diagnosis and treatment, through bereavement and beyond.”
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About Together for Short Lives:
When a child’s life is expected to be short, there’s no time to waste. Together for Short Lives is here to make sure the 99,000 seriously ill children and their families across the UK can make the most of every moment they have together, whether that’s for years, months or only hours. We stand alongside families, supporting them to make sure they get the vital care and help that they need.
We support and empower families caring for seriously ill children by listening to their needs and helping them find the right care. We provide easily digestible information about available support so families can spend less time searching for help and have more time together. We connect families with support services and other families who understand what they are going through, so they don’t feel as alone.
99,000 babies, children and young people are living in the UK with health conditions that are life-limiting or life-threatening—and the number is rising. Many of these children have complex conditions and need specialist care 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The impact is enormous; affected parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, and the wider family make up an estimated 790,000 people who are actively involved in care. For those who love these children, accessing help and the right care can be emotionally stressful. For those of us who haven’t faced it, it’s unimaginable.
Getting the right support can make a lifetime of difference. And that’s what we are here for.
W: togetherforshortlives.org.uk
Helpline: 0808 8080 100
About Morrisons:
Headquartered in Bradford since 1899, Morrisons is a British food retailer with around 110,000 colleagues in 499 Morrisons supermarkets and around 1,100 Morrisons Daily and McColl’s convenience stores.
We are British farming’s single biggest direct customer and all Morrisons-branded fresh meat and everything on our butchers’ counters is 100% British. Foodmakers and shopkeepers are at the heart of everything we do. With over 6,500 trained butchers, bakers, fishmongers, cheesemongers, florists and other skilled in-store specialists who make good things happen every day.
We have our own sites making meat, fruit & veg, fish, bakery and fresh food products – 19 in all – and are unique in preparing and making more than half of the fresh food sold in our stores.
We also offer popular services including cafés, pharmacies, dry cleaners and over 300 petrol stations with further services being added all the time.
About OK! Magazine:
OK! Magazine is the most popular celebrity lifestyle magazine in the UK, with a monthly readership of 1.8 million people. Across online it attracts around 6 million readers every month. Celebrities have been choosing to share their life events with OK! for over 25 years; from engagement to weddings, pregnancy announcements to new babies.
OK! is published by Reach plc, the UK’s largest commercial news publisher.
For more information visit ok.co.uk or reachplc.com.
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