Co-founder sings for supper in fundraiser

The charity raised over £13,000 at a new-style party event that included an auction in central London on Wednesday 16th November 2011. The charity hosted a record 200 guests at its high profile annual fundraiser, held at The Cumberland Hotel's chic Carbon Bar for the first time.

Supporters dug deep to bid on a bounty of unique gifts and experiences during the auction, presided over by renowned Polar explorer, environmental entrepreneur and MHF supporter Pen Hadow (pictured below).

AUCTION - popular lots included a day with personal trainer Richard Callender (pictured above), star of ITV1's The Biggest Loser and also an Ambassador to the charity, and a Porche driving experience at the world famous Silverstone racing track.

Guests also snapped up Muscle Warrior t-shirts and supped on 657 cocktails - a fruity concoction representing approximately every muscle in the human body.

PHOTOGRAPHY – thank you to the charity’s official photographer on the night, long-standing supporter Steve Carter. You can see a selection of his photos by clicking the Flikr screen-grab below.

PODCAST – thank you also to our long-serving Podcast Queen, Sarah Lowther for putting this podcast compilation together. Despite the difficult acoustics, the essence of the event has been captured. You can listen to it by clicking the icon below.

TEXT DONATIONS – furthermore, MHF unveiled a new text donation service operated through JustTextGiving by Vodafone. The system enables users to make a donation of their choosing by texting the code MUSC13 and an amount of up to £10 to 70070. This innovation was kick-started by the charity’s co-founder and Chief Muscle Warrior Michael McGrath, who asked guests to text £10 as he courageously took to the stage to sing two renditions of Robbie Williams’ 1997 hit Angels.

McGrath had been secretly rehearsing for the performance with Rachel Shipp who studied music at the Royal Academy of Music in London and who is the Head of Music at the Amwell View School and Specialist Sports College in East Hertfordshire – McGrath reportedly barely hit a bum note.

MUSCLE DREAM – finally, McGrath took the time to thank some of the charity’s key supporters and, in an emotional address, he recounted the delivery of its latest Muscle Dream that saw 18 year-old Richard Douglas from Northern Ireland fulfil a life-long ambition to watch his beloved Manchester United football team play at Old Trafford.

Richard, who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), also watched his heroes train at the club’s Carrington Road facility and then met the players over a lunch. The club’s Foundation organises Dream Days for children and young adults with life-limiting diseases that take place every season working in association with a number of specialist ‘wish’ charities across the country.

Richard’s family including his younger brother Patrick were guests of the Manchester Malmaison. The hotel generously provided a number of memorable touch – points including a 3:4:3 welcome platter of strawberries dipped in chocolate (pictured below) illustrating a pitch formation.

ROCK BAND – an impromptu visit by Irish rock band The Script (pictured below) at the family’s private farewell dinner organised by the hotel was another big surprise. “The band was performing at Sir Alex Ferguson’s 25th anniversary celebration and generously stopped by for a really good 10 minute natter – Richard and his brother Patrick were gob-smacked!” added McGrath.

Richard’s grandfather, Richard Lally, said MHF is a charity “like no other”, adding that he will never forget the “warmth and love” shown in making his grandson’s Muscle Dream a reality.

"This was our first informal party-style event. With nearly £13,000 raised for our 2012 flagship Games Inspired Muscle Dreams programme, the evening was a success and we’re already looking forward to planning next year’s event," said the charity’s CEO McGrath.

About Muscular Dystrophy (MD)
Muscular Dystrophy is the single biggest genetic killer of children in our world today. With some 75,000 UK sufferers being robbed of their mobility, independence and finally, for those with the most severe form known as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), their lives. The charity delivers experiences for people directly affected by this debilitating disease.

About Muscle Dreams
Muscle Dreams are amazing experiences in the UK designed to help children and young people whose lives are afflicted by the muscle-wasting disease, muscular dystrophy (MD), the opportunity to live a dream, or perhaps fulfil a cherished ambition. Muscle Dreams can cost anywhere between £500 to for example £5000 – whilst the charity will do its utmost at all times, it is unable to fund every Muscle Dream nomination received.

About Muscle Warriors
Muscle Warriors are those generous-hearted people who use for example the power of sport to engage, inspire and raise vital funds – Muscle Warriors run across deserts, they sprint along race tracks, do triathlons and ironman’s as well as events called GRIM; they climb mountains and participate in endurance activities to enable Muscle Dreams to happen. They reinforce the robust link between muscles, movement and sport.

**Important Note for Journalists / Editors**
The charity works very hard to avoid language such as ‘grant wishes’ or ‘realise dreams’ or ‘fulfil special days’, which is very much in keeping with the approach of some other well-known charities. The Muscle Help Foundation delivers Muscle Dreams – we would be grateful if editors would ensure that this is communicated in this manner – thank you.

From the press office of The  Muscle Help Foundation
Registered Charity No. 1096716