Braid Concert will boost ‘under-rated’ charities

Local woman Lorraine Clarke is behind the organisation of the concert, which will take place in the Braid Arts Centre on Thursday, June 23 (8pm).

All proceeds from the concert will be divided equally between the Blind Centre for Children and Crossroads Caring.

The idea first came to Lorraine when she attended a similar charity function in the Braid last year.

“There are so many worthy causes out there and many people will have their own personal reasons for supporting particular organisations but I decided that I wanted to try to highlight the work of two charities which maybe don’t attract the same level of publicity as some others,” she told the Times.

“I first dealt with the Blind Centre for Children a few years ago when we gave them the proceeds from a golf outing that I had organised.

“When I contacted the charity to put forward the idea, the person was flabbergasted at the timing because the organisation was trying to organise its annual outing to the Share Centre in County Fermanagh for the children and that particular year they didn’t know where the money was going to come from for the trip.

“The man volunteered to come up to Ballymena to present the prizes at the golf outing and when he gave a presentation about the centre’s work with blind children, you could have heard a pin drop in the room. We ended up raising £1,800 for them at that time and I always vowed that if I organised another charity event, the Blind Centre for Children would benefit from it.

“As for Crossroads Caring, I recently read a newspaper article about the organisation’s 80 juvenile carers around the Province.

“These are kids who do a sterling job, looking after perhaps their father or mother as a carer and the money they raise would take the children for a night out in Belfast with a meal and a show and that would be something really special for these children and a fantastic reward for the work they do.”

Lorraine is hoping that the Ballymena public will support the concert, which features an excellent line-up of entertainment, headlined by Eugene O’Dornan and Tony Kerr, who will be supported by Joe Moore, Clare Knox and the Mulholland family.

“We’re very fortunate to have such a wonderful facility as the Braid on our own doorsteps in Ballymena and I would like to thank Council Arts officer Rosalind Lowry for all her help in organising the event as well as all the artists taking part,” added Lorraine.

Tickets, priced at £10, are available from reception at the Braid Arts Centre or by telephoning 2563 5900 or by sending a free text to ‘SHOWS’ to the Braid on 80480.