I am an Events student and as part of my Event Management module this semester we have the practical group assessment of creating a real life event. As a group we decided that we wanted to have a masquerade ball because we had seen them in so many different films and TV shows growing up like A Cinderella Story, Pretty Little Liars, Just My Luck and Gossip Girl to name a few and it was something we had always wanted to do. Our university encourages us to team up with a charity to give the event purpose and to learn about working directly with stakeholders so we did a little research as we wanted to pick something that suited the event and maybe isn’t the charity that people usually fund raise for. Although my mind didn’t initially click, one of my group members who lives up in Aberdeenshire with me mentioned Stella’s Voice and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of them since I went to school and danced with Mark’s (the founder of Stella’s Voice) kids!

Stella’s Voice is a charity that supports and builds orphanages in Moldova and other Eastern European countries, but their work doesn’t stop there, they also work to create opportunities to provide orphans with skills so that when they become adults they are less vulnerable to being sold to traffickers. A huge amount of care goes into creating these orphanages that foster self esteem and positivity into the lives of those who are often forgotten. Like Stella’s Voice aims to be a spokesperson for the voiceless, we wanted to unmask this issue to as many people as possible.

Our event included a singer/guitarist, a dance performance and a DJ as well as Mark our guest speaker sharing a little more about the charity. We also had raffles, Stella’s Voice merchandise, a photographer and a pic ‘n’ mix table.

It was a fun night and I am so pleased that we were able to raise over £750 for a great charity that really deserves as much support as possible. We also got 80% for the assessment which is so awesome. Can’t wait to plan another event.