ACLT GIFT OF LIFE CELEBRITY FUNDRAISING BALL: A CELEBRATION OF LIFESAVING WORK & LIVING ORGAN DONORS

On Saturday 28th September 2019, leading blood cancer charity ACLT will host the 12th edition of their celebrity attended fundraising event, the ‘ACLT Gift of Life Celebrity Fundraising Ball’. Good friend of TBB, BBC Radio 1XTRA DJ, Ace is to attend the fundraising ball alongside other celebrities, to highlight his urgent need of a kidney transplant.

The fundraiser which in previous years has been attended by Prince, Emeli Sande, The Duchess of York, Beverley Knight MBE, John Barnes MBE, Ian Wright MBE, Patrick Vieira, Gabrielle, Frankie Beverly & Maze, Blackish star Anthony Anderson and Jimmy Choo, will take place at the 5-star InterContinental London Park Lane Hotel, One Hamilton Place, Park Lane, Mayfair.

This year’s ball will shine a light to celebrate African and Caribbean unsung heroes within organ donation in the UK – individuals who have become living donors (through the donation of an organ) to save the life of their loved one. The night will also highlight the stories of patients who are in desperate need to find a lifesaving donor to dramatically enhance or save their life.

Many know BBC 1XTRA radio personality, DJ Ace for his jovial, fun nature, catching jokes on the radio waves with the biggest names in music, however, what many don’t know is that Ace is currently living with kidney failure and requires a lifesaving kidney transplant to beat the illness.

Ace, was first diagnosed with kidney failure aged 37, however it was during his younger years this health journey started. Ace said: “I was diagnosed with diabetes when I was 20 years old, so I’ve always had regular blood tests to monitor my diabetes”.

A few years ago after one of his routine blood tests, Ace was informed by doctors his kidney function was gradually deteriorating. Throughout 2018, Ace started to have regular vomiting episodes in the morning – this was when things regarding his health really started to take a turn.

Ace continues: “I visited the doctor and after they run a few more tests, it was confirmed in May 2018 that my kidneys were not functioning as they should and that I would need to start dialysis three times a week to maintain my life.” It goes without saying, Ace’s job as a radio DJ on one of the UK’s most popular radio stations results in his life being super hectic.

He adds: “ I’m a very busy person and I love what I do. My line of work can be unpredictable at times and calls for a lot of evening [jobs] and travelling. However, now my work has to fit around the 15 hours a week I’m at hospital. It can be frustrating at times. I now need a transplant to if I am to beat kidney failure. I’m not afraid of the operation I just hope for it to happen as soon as possible. I would love to stop attending my dialysis appointment 3 times a week which last up to 5 hours a time and instead get back to having a regular life. I was told I needed to be lighter to make the procedure as safe as possible. I’ve managed to drop a lot of weight I’m just waiting for a kidney now”.

Becoming a living donor is such an amazing thing you can do for someone. Your selfless act enables families to keep their loved ones longer.

ACLT Charity founders Orin Lewis & Beverley De-Gale (l-r) Emeli Sande (centre)

This year’s ACLT Gift of Life ball will be the 12th edition of the event and is guaranteed to be as inspirational as the 11 that came before. On the night some of the UK’s most famous faces from the world of TV, Music Film, Sport, Politics and Business will return to raise much-needed funds, whilst showing admiration to previously unknown individuals for providing the ultimate gift, the gift of life.

CELEBRITY ATTENDANCE

Some celebrity names confirmed to attend this year include: ACLT Patron and Actor Colin Salmon, Politician Diane Abbott, Musician Jahmene, Comedian & Actor Richard Blackwood, Ex-Footballer Andrew Cole, Ghanaian-British Artist Fuse ODG, Radio Personality Angie Greaves, Broadcaster Jasmine Dotiwala, Film Directors & Actors Femi Oyeniran & Nicholas Walker, Actor Aml Ameen, Broadcaster Brenda Emmanus, Actor Charles Venn, Actress Chizzy Akudolu, Ex-Football Manager Chris Hughton, Channel 5 News Broadcaster Claudia-Liza Armah, Ex-boxer Colin McMillan, BBC Radio 1XTRA DJ Ace, BBC Radio Broadcaster Dotun Adebayo, Eastenders Actress Ellen Thomas, Sky News Broadcaster Gillian Joseph, Holby City Actors Hugh Quarshie & Jaye Jacobs, Ex-Footballers Joe Thompson, Marcus Gayle & Paul Canoville, Silent Witness Actress Sara Powell, TV Presenter, Scarlette Douglas, Ex Radio DJ Martin Jay, ITV 1 The Chase Shaun Wallace, Boxing Promoter Spencer Fearon, Channel 4 News Broadcaster Symeon Brown and Casualty Actor Tony Marshall with many more soon to be confirmed from the world of Entertainment, Sports, Film, TV & Stage, Politics, Broadcast and more.



ACLT Co-founder Beverley De-Gale said:

“Gift of Life has been ACLT’s flagship fundraising event for many years. I’m excited Orin, the ACLT Team and I are able to bring it back once again. It’s an extremely important event because it showcases the physical impact of our work via real-life examples of lifesavers we’ve found and patients whose lives have been saved as a result. The ball is a humbling experience for us all, but more importantly it’s a much-loved part of our calendar as it provides an opportunity for the audience to get energized to do what’s necessary to ensure our message carries on to be heard and our lifesaving work continues.”



“At this year’s ball we will share our new campaign #GiveHopeGiftLife. We sincerely wish this becomes a key takeaway of the evening, so alongside our community – we can come together once again to save many more lives and find lifesaving donors who are readily available to donate to those in need”.



The Gift of Life Celebrity Fundraising Ball will be hosted by Smooth FM’s new drivetime show presenter Angie Greaves. The event is open to members of the public. Tickets are priced at £150 and available at www.aclt.org . Tickets include a drinks reception, 3 course dinner, live entertainment auction and raffle.

The ACLT Gift of Life Celebrity Fundraising Ball takes place Saturday 28th September 2019. Find out more information and book your tickets here.

To find out how you can support DJ Ace and about the ACLT Charity go to the website here.

