EAN Charity Balls - Launching in 2017?

An Annual Party for a Good Cause

Over the years, based on feedback and suggestions from members, we have toyed with the idea of hosting an annual Ball, but have never had the opportunity to really focus on it. We ladies, and gents, all need an excuse to get glammed up and have a party every now and then, but we so rarely have a valid reason to these days. Well, our plan is to hopefully change that, and to host an annual ball for EAs, PAs and their partners and colleagues, and by making it a charity ball, we would get to do some good at the same time.

Your Ball - Run By EA Volunteers

One of the main suggestions we have received in regards to the idea of a ball, is that it should be run by members for members and, given how busy we are with all our other events, we really like that idea. So our vision is for events run by a committee of volunteers with a key project manager at the helm. You know the old saying, if you want something done, give it to an EA. Well, here we believe that is very apt, especially given that most EAs have extensive experience organising events anyway.

Your Ball In Your City

Another key question we have been asked is, do we start by hosting one ball in Sydney or Melbourne, or, do we let local demand dictate and agree that if sufficient interest exists in other cities, and we have the volunteers ready to take on the project and scope out the feasibility in their area, why not let that happen. We will be guided by our members in regards to this so please let us know your thoughts.

Which Charity?

One of the most contentious issues we have faced whenever this topic has been raised with us in the past is which charity any such venture should support. We believe that this can probably change in years to come, but we would really like to support the Children’s Cancer Institute initially, as we believe their goal to help continually reduce the number of kids dying from cancer each year, ultimately to head towards zero, to be the most amazing objective and we really want to help give them every opportunity to succeed. As you would know, we are already helping support them this year and next through their Dare The Boss campaign.

Committee Structures

Our belief is that any ball being planned would need a committee of at least 5 key people, including the main project leader, to ensure it is adequately planned, and scoped, and that we can get sufficient buy in from supporters in every facet of the event operation to keep the costs down and hopefully ensure the event can make the most amount of money possible. We would also need volunteers to help drum up sales support, including promoting corporate tables to try and increase the likelihood of hitting our target numbers. Similarly, we would need people for getting donations for auction prizes and other fund raising activities.

How to Volunteer?

We are happy to provide initial support for any event through helping to establish a functional working committee. To that end, if you would like to put your hand up to be considered for a committee position in Melbourne or Sydney, please let us know by writing to us outlining your experience and background, as well as why you think you would be a useful member of any such committee, to natasha@executiveassistant.com. For other cities, should you believe there is strong justification for starting with a working committee in your region, then please also let us know at the same email address.

Gala Event Dates

If we are successful in getting committees in place to start working on these events, our thoughts are that launching initially in the winter months would be best due to the lack of other such events in the calendar, but also because winter balls are somehow just that little bit more atmospheric – or at least that is our thought. So we were thinking about late July and early August as possible dates.

Summary

As I mentioned earlier, most of us rarely have the opportunity to get dressed up and go to a gala type event or ball. So we think it is time we change that and give the EAN members an annual excuse to get together for a fun night, but one that also helps to achieve some great objectives. We would love to see an EA Ball become a major annual feature in each city so that EAs can network and socialise in the most fun environment, but also include partners and colleagues (including Executives!!) so that it is more than just your typical EAN event.

And as the years go by, we can look at supporting different charities. We previously wrote about our desire to establish a charitable trust and ultimately we do aim to do that, but that is a little way down the track now it seems given the intricacies’ involved. But these types of activities can get off the ground and then ultimately fall under the auspice of an EA Charitable Trust later.

We hope this sounds appealing to members and that we get sufficient support to make it a reality. I will look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards 
Natasha Cannon
Co-founder and Director
Executive Assistant Network

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