The St Columba’s Hospice Live Life Ball, held at the newly refurbished Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh, raised a record £400,000 on Saturday evening. The one-off bottle of St Columba’s ‘AOIBHINN’ Ardbeg Reserve, in a unique bottle designed by Maeve Gillies, raised £27,000 alone.

Janice Gammell, Chair of the Live Life Ball Committee, said:- “This is an amazing result, and I speak for the committee when I say we have been humbled by the support we have received. Raising £400,000 is more than we ever imagined and it’s a privilege to know that thousands of people over the next 35 yrs of St Columba’s Hospice will benefit from one night of generosity and kindness.”

Margaret Dunbar, Chief Executive of St Columba’s Hospice, said:- “Our ambitious plans for a £26 million rebuild of St Columba’s Hospice are well underway and this amazing result will bring us one step closer to completing the project. We offer our heartfelt appreciation to everyone who contributed to the success of this event. We will return to our spiritual home in Trinity, overlooking the Firth of Forth, in Spring 2014. Our new St Columba’s Hospice will allow us to continue to provide the highest quality of care for the people of Edinburgh and the Lothians for the next 35 years.”

Lesley Christie, Fundraising Director, St Columba’s Hospice, said:- “This is without doubt our most successful fundraising event ever and we have been overwhelmed by the support and goodwill which has been shown towards St Columba’s Hospice. We are enormously grateful to our Live Life Committee for their incredible commitment to making this event such an overwhelming success, and to everyone who came long and supported us on the night.”

Photo Malcolm Cochrane Photography

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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.