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A spectacular charity ball at the award-winning Yorkshire Wildlife Park has raised almost £10,000 for animal welfare and conservation – with money still being generated from an online auction.
The ball was in aid of the charity the WildLife Foundation, which is fast becoming a major force in the protection and welfare of endangered species around the world.
More than 100 guests enjoyed a champagne reception and four-course dinner in the Tsavo Lodge accompanied by live music followed by a grand auction. Guests included business guru Sir Eric Peacock , CEO of Welcome to Yorkshire Sir Gary Verity, Lady Anne Verity and Rt Hon Caroline Flint MP and her husband Phil Cole.
Prizes, including an African safari holiday, were donated by businesses from Doncaster and further afield, which have been keen supporters of the Park’s conservation efforts.
Bidding reached £2,700 on the safari holiday supplied by Mantis Hotels. The other of the five big live auction prizes included a personal guided tour of the Palace of Westminster by the Rt. Hon Caroline Flint MP and a tour of the Emmerdale set, a box at Doncaster race course as well as an Ultimate Carnivore Experience at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, a tour that you cannot buy which includes behind the scenes at Polar Bears, Lions, Tigers and Leopards.
These include a Vulcan in the Sky VIP tour, Two Paintball Experiences, a box at Doncaster Rovers FC and two return flights on any flight with Jet2 from Leeds Bradford Airport. The Snowball was organised to coincide with International Polar Bear Week. Polar Bears International is one of the charities to benefit from the WildLife Foundation.
[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][cs_row inner_container=”false” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_blockquote cite=”Cheryl Williams, WildLife Foundation Trustee” type=”left”]“We are so grateful for all the support local businesses of the ball,’ said Cheryl Williams, Trustee of the WildLife Foundation. ‘At present the total is just under £10,000 raised and donations are still coming in! I can’t thank all our supporters enough for buying tables and then being so generous in the auction. Our vision is to create a better world for wild animals and every penny raised will go to vital conservation and welfare projects.”
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The WildLife Foundation was established at the park in 2013 to champion work in animal welfare and conservation with species such as Amur Leopards and Tigers as well as one of the most endangered carnivores in Africa, the Painted Hunting Dog – and most recently Polar Bears.
The aim is also to advance the education of the public in relation to the conservation and welfare of exotic and endangered wildlife both in the wild and in captivity. The Snow Ball rounded off a series of successful fundraising days during 2015, including Animal Action Day, International Tiger Day, World Lion Day and International Polar Bear Week. The park has had great success with Project Polar appeal that brought Victor, Pixel and Nissan, the most recent arrival from Russia, to their state-of-the-art reserve, one of the largest in the world. The appeal will continue to support conservation and welfare needs of polar bears.
The money raised from the Snow Ball last year and various fundraising events throughout the year has helped fund a variety of projects vital to many endangered and critically endangered species. WildLife Foundation is funding a number of great causes, including an Amur tiger rehabilitation centre in Russia and a project to help protect lions. WildLife Foundation is also financing projects in association with Polar Bears International, monitoring polar bear mothers and cubs in Norway and helping to educate people and organisations on the effects of climate change on polar bears’ habitats. A team from YWP funded by the Foundation to go out to improve animal welfare at Hanoi Zoo is currently out in Vietnam working with the zoo to improve conditions for the animals there.
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