Monday, March 15, 2010
   
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Softley Events Leads Team In Organising Third Bi-Annual Think Pink Ball

Spectacular event raises £18,000 For Breakthrough Breast Cancer...

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Softley Events and the Think Pink Committee are proud to announce that the third Think Pink Ball, once again held at the Norwich City football Ground, has raised £18,000 for this year’s nominated charity, Breakthrough Breast Cancer. 
 
The Norwich Think Pink Ball takes place every other year. It is organised by the Think Pink team, made up of six dynamic local businesswomen, each of whom has been touched by breast cancer and brings her own special area of expertise to the event. Chaired by Sarah Softley, Director and owner of successful event management company, Softley Events, it goes without saying that Sarah is instrumental in ensuring every detail of the evening goes to plan. 
 
This year’s spectacular event was attended by 370 guests, with tickets costing  £55.00 each. Sarah and the team are extremely proud that over 80% of the tickets were sold to guests who had attended previous Think Pink balls and any of the tables were even booked well in advance of a confirmed event date. 
 
Sarah Softley said:
“We understand that the tickets are not cheap but obviously we want to raise as much money for our chosen Breast Cancer charity as possible. Therefore, as with all the events I organise, my aim is to offer our guests a spectacular evening which will far exceed their expectations.”. 
 
Sarah achieves this goal by focusing on attention to detail. Every aspect of the event is focused on quite literally making the guests “think pink”; from the 300 metres of pink and white satin which was used to transform the function suites, to the pink welcome carpets, pink lighting and pink floristry. The champagne was pink and Sarah worked with the Executive Chef at the Football Ground to come up with a menu which had a pink theme, including Polish Beetroot Soup and Pink Champagne Jelly. Even the dancefloor was pink.
 
Sarah is also responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the event. This includes everything from distributing the tickets, liaising with the venue, creating the menu, overseeing the dressing of the room and adding that special touch of glamour on which she prides herself. 
 
Sarah Softley said:
“I aim to bring something special to every event I organise, as it is these individual touches which people notice and remember for a long time. I thought it would be a lovely idea for this year’s ball, therefore, to have some of our waiting staff in burlesque outfits, which definitely added some spice to the evening. The stunning pink corsets were also kindly donated and auctioned off during the event. ” 
 
In addition, with the support of many local businesses, including BBC Radio Norfolk presenters Karen Buchanan and Graham Barnard, House of Fraser, BBC East, Saffire Chocolates and Northwood Norwich, every guest received gift bag packed full of goodies and there was a stunning auction, overseen by Peter Hornor of Brown & Co. 
 
This year, organisers of the Think Pink Ball, were honoured to have Professor Sir Martin Evans, winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize for Medicine, supporting the event. Sir Martin has been described as the father of stem cell research and the genetic techniques he has developed with his two fellow Nobel Laureates are already bringing significant benefits in the fight against major diseases, including breast cancer. He is also a Trustee of Breakthrough Breast Cancer. 
 
Sir Martin said:
“It has been a wonderful event and I am thrilled with the success of the evening.”.
 
Since founding the committee and organising their first ball in 2004, Sarah Softley and the Think Pink Team have now raised a total of £52,000 for various breast cancer charities and Sarah vows to continue the good work.
 
Sarah Softley said:
“It has been a tremendous honour to lead such an energetic and enthusiastic team. We are all volunteers, so it is sometimes hard to find the hours in the day to put the event together, but we are all passionate about the cause and we are all extremely proud to be part of one of the most successful charity events in the region.”.