Meet and Greet tickets to Ed Sheeran’s 2022 Mathematics Tour were among items that raised over £56,000 last night at Inspire’s annual Charity Ball.
The prize alone fetched over £14,000, with buyers clamouring for a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet the singer-songwriter sensation. The tickets were kindly donated by Sheeran’s family in support of the charity’s life-changing work.
The tour will be Sheeran’s first time returning to stadiums since his ÷ Divide Tour that ran from 2017 to 2019 and set records for being the most-attended and highest-grossing tour ever. His fourth album = (Equals) will arrive on 29 October 2021.
Inspire offers local young people the opportunities to raise their ambitions and realise their potential, and has already helped thousands of students to take their next steps into work, education or training and we hope funds from the auction will help many more. Last year, we supported 889 young people through our personal development courses alone.
Terry Baxter, the CEO, explains, “We are incredibly grateful for the support of the Sheeran family, our sponsors EDF Sizewell C, all the attendees and everyone who generously donated prizes to help us raise much-needed funds to help us continue our vital work. The money raised from the auction will enable us to offer more opportunities for young people to access the support they need to build bright futures.”
Among the other items auctioned at the event at Milsoms, Kesgrave Hall, were a highly collectable ITFC home shirt, signed by the star, as well as a luxury cruise from Fred Olsen, a dinner party experience for 10 people, and an exclusive family experience with cricket legend, Graham Gooch, with return travel from Elite Travel.
The event also saw the launch of ‘Inspire +’, a new initiative whereby local businesses can change young lives by donating £1,000 each year to support the ongoing development of students through our package of personal development programmes, free to access sport and wellbeing service.
