Cheshire-based financial planner, Franklyn has presented a cheque of £126,000 to childhood cancer support charity, The Joshua Tree after the resounding success of their Winter Waltz Gala Dinner that took place in November 2022.

The event, which took place at The Mere Golf Resort and Spa, Knutsford, hosted 300 guests for a night of entertainment whilst raising money for charities.

The event, which was headline sponsored by currency transfer experts TorFX, raised £215,000 for the St. James's Place Charitable Foundation; the charitable arm of St. James's Place Wealth Management whom Franklyn is a Principal Partner and who also matched all donations on the night of the event.

The foundation then distributed monies raised through a range of grants and programmes. Franklyn supports The Joshua Tree and had selected the charity as their 'pledge charity' for the Winter Waltz.

The Joshua Tree works with families who have been affected by childhood cancer by providing emotional, academic, and practical support during times that more often than not, are extremely traumatic for families.

As part of the evening, guests were given an opportunity to pledge a specific amount to any of the 'pledge charities' which would then go directly to that cause.

More than 65 guests pledged their support after hearing from The Joshua Tree CEO, Richard Driffield, and charity beneficiary, Katherine.

Richard Driffield, CEO of The Joshua Tree, commented: "We are so grateful to the team at Franklyn for choosing to support The Joshua Tree as their pledge charity for the 2022 Winter Waltz."

"We are blown away by the generosity of everyone who attended, and the amount raised is incredible, thank you to SJP for matching the amount pledged on the night.

"As a small charity, this level of support will make a huge difference and enable us to help even more families affected by childhood cancers."

The Joshua Tree helps families affected by childhood cancer through a range of ways (Image - Franklyn)

The single largest pledge of the night was £50,000 which was pledged by the Premiership Rugby Union side and official partners of Franklyn, Sale Sharks Rugby Club; the donation is the largest single amount pledged in the history of running the event.

Sale Sharks sales and marketing director Claire Butters said: "It was our great pleasure as a club to support both our partner Franklyn and The Joshua Tree, to help them continue to work with so many children and their families in our region.

"We want to be so much more than just a rugby club and a big part of that is supporting causes and events like this that make an impact in our community. We share that passion with the team at Franklyn."

Andrew Chatterton, managing director and chartered financial planner at Franklyn, stated: "We're thrilled to be able to support The Joshua Tree with this substantial donation and hope it will help them continue the amazing work that they do within our local area."

"The amount raised is a testament to the continued support from our guests at the event and I would like to once again thank all our supporters who have made this possible.

"We've been partners with Sale Sharks Rugby Club for a number of years now and it is heart-warming to see that we share the same passion for giving back to those around us, and I would like to personally thank them for such an incredible, generous donation."

Guests at the presentation of the cheque, had a tour of The Joshua Tree to learn more about the charity (Image - Franklyn

With the amount raised at last year's Winter Waltz, Franklyn has raised, in total, £1.5 million for the SJP Charitable Foundation.

The cheque was presented to Diane Hummerston, head of income generation at The Joshua Tree, in the presence of operations director at Franklyn, Charlotte Chatterton, along with co-owners of Sale Sharks, Simon and Michelle Orange, and players at the club; Vicky Irwin, Will Cliff, and Manu Tuilagi.

Also in attendance were James Whalley and Helen Davies from Belvoir Northwich, supporters of the Winter Waltz, and Catherine and her two children who are beneficiaries of the charity and who spoke on the night of the event.

Franklyn will be continuing their fundraising efforts at their upcoming Summer Swing Charity Golf Shield, which is taking place at Mottram Hall on Thursday 6th July.