THHN charity day/Auction raised over £4200

It may have been wet and blustery outside on the evening of Saturday 2 November but inside Haddon Galleries on Torquay harbourside there was lots of warm spirit and generosity at a special event to raise money for the THHN (Torbay Holiday Helpers Network). Haddon Galleries was recently named as this year's Fine Art Retailer of the Year and the event doubled up as a celebration as well as a wonderful evening of fundraising. The THHN gives free holidays to families who have seriously ill and bereaved children, recently bereaved families, couples who have lost a child and to families who have a terminally ill parent.

The gallery was open all day with artists Laura Wall and Mike Jackson painting and signing prints. Raffle tickets were on sale all day with some fantastic prizes.

The evening was definitely time for a bit of a party. With some delicious nibbles and refreshments very kindly donated by Waitrose Torquay and music from great duo, Noteable, the atmosphere was perfect for the auction of some incredible lots including an Original paintings by Pip McGarry, Laura Wall, Elaine Cooper and Theresa Shaw.

Throughout the day, the gallery donated 5% of its sales to the THHN and, with the raffle and auction as well, the event raised over £4,200. Luke Tillen, founder and Chairman of the THHN, said “A huge thank you to our good friends at Haddon Galleries in Torquay. We really cannot thank Fiona and Paul Haddon and all their staff enough for hosting such a wonderful event. I must also thank our fantastic volunteers who helped and the brilliant Brian Lewis, our Fundraising Manager who co-ordinated everything along with our photographer Dougie Worthington of Peacock Dreams Photography who was busy taking a lovely selection of photos of the event.”

Brian said “I'm delighted with how well the event went. There was a great turnout of people and the lots in the auction were really impressive. Such donations are so vital to enable us to raise funds for our the very special project we now have underway to build a bungalow for families with very high level care needs. So, my thanks to everyone who helped out with this event, including our wonderful auctioneer for the evening, Gerald Arnold.”

Fiona Haddon, owner of Haddon Galleries said “Its so rewarding to raise money for such a great cause.. and have fun as well"