AT GPD 30TH ANNIVERSARY BALL Gabhru Panjab De (GPD) Bhangra Dancers raised £21,000 for MS Society, Give A Kidney and The Heera Foundation at their 30th Anniversary Ball held on 17th November 2018 at Supreme Banqueting Suite, West Bromwich, West Midlands. GPD presented a cheque of £7,000.00 to each charity on Friday 7th December 2018 at GPD Academy, Hollylodge High School, Smethwick, B67 7JG.
GPD Bhangra Group was set up in Smethwick, West Midlands in 1988. The group celebrated 30 years in the entertainment industry with a GPD Dinner and Dance Ball 17th November 2018 at Supreme Banqueting Suite, West Bromwich, £21,000.00 was raised on the night through auction, raffle prizes and donations for MS Society, Give A Kidney and The Heera Foundation. The money raised will be split between the three charities.
Aki Sandhu – GPD Manager, said: “We are absolutely thrilled by the amount that was raised at our black tie ball, this would not have become reality without the huge commitment and active contribution from our sponsors, partners, donors and guests who attended the ball.
We pulled out all the stops to make it an amazing evening for all our guests. Our three named charities are very close to GPD hearts, as we all have had family members with MS, needing a kidney and/or with mental health illness. GPD have been absolutely overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of so many people have supported us for this event and throughout the 30 years.”
Sanjiv Gohil, Trustee of Give a Kidney said: “We are incredibly grateful to GPD Bhangra Dancers, for their support of Give a Kidney at this event. It was a truly wonderful and memorable night and an amount like this make a huge difference to a small charity like ours.
Thanks to the help and generosity of everyone who supported the event, this will take us a step closer to achieving our vision of ‘no waiting for a transplant for want of a kidney’, helping us to raise awareness of the fact that any healthy adult in the UK can donate one of their kidneys to someone very ill on the transplant waiting list.”
Lyndsay Smith – MS Society, said: “On Saturday 17th November the MS Society Birmingham Group
were invited to the GDP Dancers Charity Ball as one of their nominated charities.
The event was a great success and an opportunity for us to raise awareness of MS. We are thrilled to accept a very
generous donation of £7,000.00 as a result of this event, that will make a huge positive impact on people affected by MS in Birmingham as it will help us to continue providing vital support, services and activities in this area. Thank you GDP Dancers!”
Indi Smith – The Heera Foundation, said: “We are truly humbled ‘Gabhru Panjab De’ for your overwhelming support and compassion in believing in our mission. Thank you for the funds that you have raised to help us to ensure awareness of Mental Health Support for members of the
community.
Thank you also for giving us the strength that we need to make our mission possible. Your guidance, diamond like charisma and generosity is valued and much appreciated.”
The event was sold out and attended by 850 guests and celebrities from the UK Bhangra Industry. There where live performances by Gabhru Panjab De Dancers, singers JK, King Premi Johal, www.Gabhru.com
Jaswinder Jassi, DJ Paul Nagra and hosted by Sukhi Bart and Deepa Virdi. Representatives from the three charities also shared their personnel stories and we also had Sandie Shoker share the story of Anaya a 22-month old girl with a rare genetic condition called ARPKD who is in urgent need of a
kidney transplant, they registered people on the NHS Organ Donation Register on the night as well. Bindi Sandhu – Chairperson GPD, said: “With three decades of ground-breaking creative work behind us and so many great memories with our audiences, we wanted to do something to
celebrate GPD’s 30th anniversary and we wanted it to be a grand event.
There was a champagne reception, a great five-course meal with wine, wonderful entertainment and optional fundraising activities for our three amazing charities. There was a great atmosphere and a great buzz at the
ball, we had people saying they wanted us do an annual dinner and dance annually!
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us, it was great to celebrate this special milestone amongst so many great friends and supporters of the GPD company.”
The evening also paid tribute to Sukhy Johal who sadly passed away in August 2018 at the age of 47, leaving behind a wife and two sons. Sukhy’s family were presented with a trophy in his memory on the night. Sukhy was one of the GPD founding members and worked as solicitor at Mann & Co Solicitors.This year GPD Bhangra Dancers were awarded ‘Best Wedding Entertainment Award’ and also received an award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Industry’ at this year’s Midlands Asian Wedding Awards (MAWA) which was held on Saturday 1st December 2018 at VOX Conference Centre, Resorts World, Birmingham, UK.
GPD was also awarded the 1st place winners for he ‘Choreographed/Stylized Adults Dance Group Competition’ at Llangollen International Musical
Eisteddfod, Wales 2018, putting Bhangra and West Midlands on the international map!
For all media enquiries please contact:
Bindi on 07967 777011 or email: info@gabhru.com
For GPD Bookings:
Aki: 07711 503460 | Peeta: 07961 551373
Please credit all photos: © Silver Fox Pictures 2018
