So just before Christmas I held my fundraising event which was a night out that involved a 3 hour reception in The Generator in Smithfield followed by an after party in Everleigh Garden,

Tickets were €15 and were available online and in person two weeks before the event.. In the end, over 120 people came to the event - way more than I expected which was great!

The reception venue was absolutely brilliant and the staff couldn't have been more supportive in helping to organise the night. All the food and drink on the night was donated which meant that the costs for providing the following were zero:

Trays of cakes and treats from KC Peaches and Avoca 120 x mince pies from Dunnes Stores 160 x glasses of Mulled Cider from Stonewell Craft in Cork 60 x pints of Fosters donated by the staff at Generator 50 x glasses of mulled wine from Lidl

One of my favourite elements of the night was the Digital Art Exhibition that was projected throughout the venue on the night. Two weeks before the event I visited Temple St with a photographer (massive thank you to Sam Foxton!) and he photographed various pieces of artwork that the children had created in the Play Department. Sam then turned all of this material into a really great video which was played around the venue on the projector and television screens. It was a nice reminder of where all the money collected on the night would go.

It was great to hear that the highlight of the night for many people was the entertainment....

Morgan MacIntyre sang a collection of songs from her new E.P with Ben on piano (http://morganmacintyre.bandcamp.com/)

and

Du Dance created a routine especially for the event which involved some very festive Irish dancers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKmo-vsS_ps&feature=youtu.be)

At the end of the night I held a raffle which raised almost €300 - a lot of other guests at The Generator took part in this which was great! All of the companies below were so generous and supportive in donating prizes or offering their services at a discounted price (or for free in some case!) and they definitely deserve some acknowledgement:

• Bord Gais & the Grand Canal Theatre
• Google
• Universal Music
• Warner Music
• House of Ireland
• Reads
• Nandos
• Everleigh Garden
• Madison Nightclub
• Jackson Court Hotel
• Dundrum on Ice
• The Happy Pear
• Pa Jama
• Session Hire
• Generator Hostel
• Hales Freight
• Avoca
• Stonewell Craft
• Lidl
• Dunnes Stores

Feedback from the night has been great so far and I'm delighted that with the help of friends, family and the 100minds team we raised over €1800, almost doubling the original target of €1000!