The Development Department has been busy organising ESMS Dinner for Doddie, a fundraising gala dinner for the extended ESMS community, an event in support of My Name’5 Doddie Foundation and Access to Excellence. The dinner will take place in the stunning Grand Gallery at the National Museum of Scotland on 1 February 2019.
A very special 1988 SMC leaver, Doddie Weir announced his Motor Neurone Disease diagnosis in June 2017; he has since devoted his considerable energy and charisma to raising funds for research into the causes and potential treatment of Motor Neurone Disease through the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation. The funds raised by our Dinner will be equally divided between Doddie’s foundation and our ESMS charity, Access to Excellence, which provides means-tested support for children to attend our schools.
Doddie and his family have a long association with the schools as pupils, parents and members of staff. The dinner will allow us, as a school community, to recognise the significance of the inclusive education we offer to children from a wide a range of backgrounds. We also hope to show Doddie just how much he and his family mean to the schools and how committed we are to help him in his mission. As a school community, we owe it to Doddie to do what we can.
Since the event was launched in May 2018, we have been humbled by the level of support we have received, and we are truly looking forward to welcoming over 700 guests to a very special evening.
Our community has come out in force to support our aims of fundraising, from our headline sponsors, Carbon Financial and Craneware, to many wonderful parents and alumni who have given amazing items to our charity auction.
We would love to be able to host all of those who wished to join us on 1 February, but Edinburgh’s event venues have proven too small for our generous ESMS family. We have decided to open the digital auction to the wider community in order to allow those without a ticket for the dinner, to join our efforts and support Doddie and the school.
Please visit www.jumblebee.co.uk/esmsdinnerfordoddie where you will be able to bid on any of this impressive collection of desirable items.
From weekends away in the UK to trips overseas, original artwork, a host of rugby memorabilia and opportunities to play golf on great courses, there is something to fire everyone’s imagination. Everything has been fully donated by generous members of our community for the sole purpose of raising funds for our two charities.
The auction is open for online bids until midnight on Thursday 31st January when online bidding will close. Bidding will re-open at the Dinner on 1 February and will only be available at the venue. If you are not attending the Dinner but are keen to secure an item or two for yourself, you can use the proxy bid system which will bid on your behalf up to a maximum that you input. You will be contacted after the Dinner if your bid is successful.
If you are particularly interested in the live auction items but will not be at the Dinner to bid for them, please contact Suzi on development@esms.org.uk who will discuss the options for proxy bidding on live auction items with you.
We are still talking to parents and alumni about further donations of auction items so please ‘like’ our Facebook page www.facebook.com/esmscommunity as new items will be posted there alongside already advertised items over the next couple of weeks. You do not have to be a member of Facebook in order to access our page, just click the link!
