This year Transitions UK celebrated its 7th year of supporting the vulnerable young people in our community by hosting our Annual Gala Dinner. We had an amazing turn out on Saturday evening (9th October 2021) with the Gala being held at the Luton Auction House https://theauctionhouse.uk.com who are always a great venue for our events.

The evening began, as always, with a welcome speech, and look back over the last 7 years, by our CEO, and Founder of the charity Ron Overton. We are on an exciting journey together! We then had an ice-breaking game of Heads or Tails, which had everyone in fits of laughter and had us all set up for a great night with fantastic company.

Guests were then entertained by the wonderful Memphis Belles https://www.memphisbelles.co.uk who took the guests down a nostalgic swing-style musical journey before and after a fabulous three-course meal.

One of the most emotional and important parts of the evening was when we were able to hear from all four projects – Achieve, Aspire, Affirm and Attain – about their progress and their future goals. Some of the beneficiaries themselves stood up to tell guests a little bit about themselves, what they have achieved whilst being involved with Transitions UK and what their life plans are as a result of our support. These were very heart-warming moments for everyone listening, (there weren’t many dry eyes at the end for sure). It was great to hear the very real positive change that we are enabling for these young people.

Then it was time for the fundraising part of the evening, where our dynamic Head of Community Engagement, Chris Ford stepped in to announce the raffle winners and, ably supported by our Treasurer, Tom Grant, ran a highly entertaining, live auction, followed by a silent auction. The Silent Auction was provided by Impulse Decisions https://www.impulsedecisions.com/. Epic prizes were claimed, and a fun competitive atmosphere was created. The rest of the evening was played out by the Memphis Belles, once again, who got people dancing and enjoying a great time on the dance floor!

All in all, the night was an amazing success thanks to the many partners, trustees, sponsors, staff, volunteers, and beneficiaries who attended. We even had the Mayor of Luton himself, Mahmood Hussain attend and do a great speech in support of our work, which was a great privilege.

Transitions UK would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who could make the event and to those who have supported the charity over the years for helping us reach this incredible milestone, our 7th year anniversary!

Thank you to our board of trustees, all our guests and supporters, especially our event sponsors:
Paytap https://paytap.co.uk
Electrolux https://www.electrolux.co.uk
Pragmatiq https://www.pragmatiqsolutions.co.uk
K Consultants https://www.kconsultants.co.uk

Events like this would not be possible without the support and help that you provide.

A huge thank you also to Jo Hailey from Striking Places https://strikingplaces.com who was again the photographer for the night, allowing the guests to have fun by putting on some fancy-dress items and taking some great photos!

A big thank you to all the volunteers, mentors and all the staff that joined and made the evening a success! You are all such an important part of the charity, providing incredible support to our young people every week and every day.

And finally, we want to give a huge shout out to the fundraising team here at Transitions UK – Sarah Grimes, Chris Ford and Lucy Eaton, who organised every aspect of the night and worked endlessly to make sure everything was perfect for all the guests! And to those who supported them.

Over the last 7 years, the charity has grown from strength to strength and accomplished so much for the young people we support. This charity was born out of frustration that the needs of young people were not being acknowledged, let alone met! So, the charity was built on a vision for change that our CEO and founder wanted to see and share. With all of your help this is becoming a reality.

At its inception, Transitions UK started as a single project in Luton. We have now grown into having four projects with multiple hubs across seven counties (and growing)! We’re also creating a virtual project to reach the young people we cannot yet meet physically! With a mission to become a national charity with a national footprint and a national voice for young people, we are most definitely going in the right direction to achieve this goal and the next seven years look to be just as successful as the last seven.

Thank you for being there for us. Here’s to seven more successful years providing support that changes young lives.