Coutts Woman

When helping kids means having a ball

Introduction

It was a true Cinderella moment – white horses pulling a carriage along Piccadilly Circus with a host of celebrities inside, all going to the UNICEF ball.  “A magical night!” says Merryn Corcoran, event organiser, and a member of the UNICEF board.  But as with any good event, magic is just the beginning.  We talk to Corcoran about the amount of work (and stress) that goes into pulling off such an evening…

It began with white horses pulling an exotic carriage through Piccadilly, carrying a host of celebrities to Park Lane where UNICEF’s Cinderella ball was being held.  Stepping out of it, they were greeted by Paparazzi, including OK Magazine who were exclusively covering the event that night.

Inside the hotel, the magic continued.  Guests were treated to a champagne reception complete with flowing white and brown chocolate fountains.  This was followed by a three-course meal, entertainment from a 17-piece brass band, and auction hosted by Jeremy Beadle.  Even Strictly Come Dancing’s Anton Du Beke demonstrated how a waltz should really be done to the music of ‘Moon River’. 

“What’s stressful is that you’re asking people to do something for nothing.  So you can’t badger or pressurise them, you’ve got to maintain that balance”

“It was a fabulous, magical night,” says Merryn Corcoran, a member of the UNICEF board who organised the event and has done for the past nine years.  “We raised £65K which will go to UNICEF’s ‘Unite for children against AIDS’ campaign, focused largely in South West Uganda where AIDS in adults has filtered down to the children.”

Push Corcoran a little further and she admits the night was also ‘stressful’.  “One of my two main challenges is keeping this night exciting and upbeat so that people have such a good time, they tell their friends about it and come back next year.”

This requires the event to go off without a hitch.  “You know the hotel’s making sure that the food’s okay, but you’ve got so many different facets to take care of.  There’s the sponsor and their clients who you must make sure are enjoying themselves.  Then there’s the auction which must work because that’s where the charity really makes a lot of money, and there’s also the entertainment and acts getting on and off on time.”

Even getting to this point has required a good year of organisation in advance for Corcoran.

We start planning the next ball just after we’ve had the current one,” she admits.  “The committee gets together to discuss the theme and date, and then we start working on the sponsors, auction prizes and tickets.”

Ultimately, this is where the stress begins.  “What’s stressful is that you’re asking everyone to do something for nothing.  This relates to an organising committee, the prizes being donated for the charity auction, and the entertainment on the night.  You can’t badger people or pressurise them.  It would be different if you were paying them, so you’ve got to maintain that balance.”

She continues: “Out of a committee of about 25 people, you may wind up with 12 who do the work.  This means that you can end up sourcing sponsors and prizes yourself – responsibilities that weren’t originally yours.  Saying that, I don’t mind because I’m pretty experienced now.  And the truth is, a committee is only as good as your motivation for the event.”

“An organising committee is only as good as your motivation for the event”

Once a date and a theme for the event is decided, the two most important issues need to be tackled - securing a hotel and a lead sponsor. This year, the Sheraton Park Lane donated its hotel facilities for a ninth consecutive year and Coutts & Co provided the lead sponsorship.  “Confirming both of these about ten months in advance of the event means you’re halfway there.”

The next few months is focused around selling tickets, getting auction prizes, booking entertainment, and organising goodie bags.  “Getting prizes requires a huge amount of time and effort.  And, with tickets, even though people have nine months to sell them, expect a mad rush for them at the end.  It’s always the case.”

Media interest, finally, is also something to consider.  “Together with the ball, my mandate to UNICEF is to boost the charity’s profile.  Having celebrities attend our ball boosts our media interest, and journalists profile the event in turn.  It’s a partnership which really benefits the charity,” she says. 

As with any hectic event organising, Corcoran concedes she has considered throwing in the towel on a couple of occasions and paying an event organiser to do it instead.  “When you’re working full time and have a family, organising this on top of all that can be stressful.  But event organisers cost a fortune and, ultimately, the only ones who would miss out as a result is the children who would be getting that extra money.  That thought always keeps me going.”

And money is something Corcoran knows about.  As member of the UNICEF board, she sees exactly where all the fundraising goes.  “UNICEF has one of the lowest administration percentages of all the major charities.  So when I ask the public or my friends to give their money, I know exactly where it’s going.”

Background

Corcoran originally became involved with UNICEF nine years ago.  At the time, she owned a fashion store on Fulham Road, and organised charity fashion shows each year.  “They benefited the charity and the business,” she admits.

Then a friend invited her to join UNICEF.  “I realised what an impact a big organisation can have as opposed to what a single person can do.  So I put all my charity energy into UNICEF.” 

The rest of Corcoran’s energy goes into her family, her business consultancy work, and her latest entrepreneurial venture, Shoe Queen, having sold her fashion store five years ago.  Shoe Queen is an online shoe shop selling quality, glitzy, glamorous shoes for a slice of the price.

“The whole online element means that you can cut overheads of rentals and sell the shoes for more affordable prices.  Plus, with women short on time, using the site means you can have the shoes delivered to your door the next day!  Just what every Cinderella needs!” she laughs.

Coutts & Co proudly sponsored UNICEF’s Cinderella ball on Friday, 20 October.

Visit UNICEF at www.unicef.org.uk or Shoe Queen at www.shoe-queen.co.uk