NI Children's Hospice to benefit from gala ball organised by Madison Wright (14)

Fourteen-year-old Madison Wright first became involved with fundraising for the worthy cause after hearing of a brother and sister who both suffered from a life-limiting condition.

The Carrickfergus Academy pupil, who previously studied at Central Integrated Primary School in Carrickfergus, was appointed the first ever youth ambassador for the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice in 2020 in recognition of her extensive fundraising efforts for the local charity.

Now she is looking forward to a gala ball, marking 21 years of the Children’s Hospice, which she has organised to take place at Titanic, Belfast on Saturday, October 29. The black-tie event will be compered by radio presenter Cate Conway and will also involve a post dinner raffle and auction.

Madison explained that she felt she “just had to do something” after hearing about Noah and Gracie Coates who shared the genetic disease Leukodystrophy.

“With the support of my family, my friends and my primary school I started to organise coffee mornings and non-uniform days. I even convinced my dad and his friends to wax their legs!

"Sadly Noah passed away in July 2019. The Gala Ball is dedicated to the memory of Noah and will take place on what would have been his 16th birthday weekend. My aim is to raise as much money as possible to make sure other children like Noah and Gracie, along with their families, can access the support they need.”

East Belfast-based Business Management Solutions provider Pinnacle is the platinum sponsor of the gala ball

Fellow brand ambassador for the Northern Ireland Hospice and Chairman of Pinnacle, Ken Montgomery commented:

"We are delighted to support this incredibly worthwhile event. Madison’s unwavering dedication to creating awareness of the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice and raising vital funds is a marvellous example to us all and her commitment to honouring young Noah Coate’s memory is truly inspiring.

"Now, more than ever, the NI Children’s Hospice requires our financial support to ensure families who have children with complex needs and life limiting conditions can spend quality time together as well as avail of much needed respite.”

The gala ball will take place on Saturday, October 29 at Titanic, beginning with a drinks reception at 6.30pm. Tickets can be purchased via contact with Madison’s social media channels: Twitter-@madison_w47 and Facebook/Instagram - @nichyouthambassador

The event is also supported by by Silver Sponsors, Re-Gen Waste and EJC Contracts, as well as Bronze Sponsors, Ulster Hockey, Manfreight Ltd, Specsavers (Newtownabbey), Henry Brothers and Ryobi.

The Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice is a local charity providing specialist respite, symptom management and end of life palliative care to more 370 infants, children and young people living with life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses both in the family home and in the Children's Hospice in Newtownabbey.

It supports children and their families through a range of services, including end of life care, care at home, supported short breaks where children and families can come and enjoy tailored activities in a safe environment with specially trained staff on hand at all times and care for the whole family.