The Lord Mayor of Nottingham’s charity ball, an event which hasn’t taken place for almost 20 years, returns this week.

The charity ball, which will be held in the Ballroom at the Nottingham Council House in Old Market Square, will have a 1920s theme, based around the year the Council House was built.

The event marks Cllr Morris’ year as the Lord Mayor and profits from the event will go towards her chosen charities – the Nottinghamshire Deaf Society and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

Dolly Parton herself has endorsed the Lord Mayor’s event, sending her a personal letter thanking her for hosting the ball and raising funds for the Imagination Library.

In her letter, Dolly also praises the hard work and help the charity has received from partners in the city. Dolly says: “I don’t think there is a town in the entire world that has worked as hard or had as much fun with launching the Imagination Library. You are all very special people – kind and generous and totally committed to your kids.”

The event on Saturday 23 April 2016 will include a three-course-meal, raffle, auction, entertainment and a ballroom dance with guests requested to dress in 1920s costume.

The Lord Mayor, Councillor Jackie Morris, said: “I thought it would be nice to have a tradition back in the Council House but the main reason for us to have it is to raise money for charity.

“I am passionate about charitable giving and I hope we can raise funds and awareness for both of these amazing causes. There will be a raffle and an auction with a lot of great prizes.

“This is will be a really fun event, in the iconic ballroom and I’m honoured to bring back the Lord Mayor’s charity ball.”

Irene Andrews, Chief Executive of Nottinghamshire Deaf Society (NDS), said “It is fantastic that the Lord Major has chosen NDS to be one of her chosen charities of the year. We have worked closely with Cllr Morris over the years and she has continued to show full support and interest in the work we do”.

Staff and volunteers from NDS have been helping the Lord Mayor with arrangements for the Ball and members of the Deaf community will be attending the event.

The Lord Mayor said: “I am really pleased to be supporting Nottinghamshire Deaf Society; it is a wonderful organisation and is very close to my heart, especially as I am hard of hearing myself”.

A number of local companies are supporting the event including Potter Clarkson, Sam Sangha, MemSaab, the Nottingham Rotary Club and John E Wright printing.

 

Nottinghamshire Deaf Society (NDS) plays a big part in the lives of deaf, deafened and hard-of-hearing people throughout Nottingham, Nottinghamshire and the East Midlands – and this year they are celebrating their 125th Anniversary.

They give deaf people access to a range of tailored information and support services such as welfare benefits advice, training, luncheon clubs and befriending schemes. With a team of British Sign Language Interpreters on hand to provide vital support in times of crisis and need, NDS really is a bridge between a hearing and a deaf world.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book-gifting scheme that was launched by Dolly Parton in 1995. The charity helps ignite a love of reading in children by delivering a free book to their home every month from birth until the age of five.

This special charity has been giving books to children in parts of Nottingham for three years, but they would like to raise enough funds to expand across the entire city and help EVERY Nottingham child to benefit.

By mid-2015 over 1,500 children have been registered and almost 20,000 books have been delivered. But the charity wants EVERY child under 5 to be able to receive the books.