The force was strong for the WightFibre Charity Premiere of Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi in aid of UKSA which took place at Cineworld on Thursday night. An audience 292 VIP Guests were in attendance for the special screening of the latest Star Wars blockbuster.
Guests joined a special VIP reception where they rubbed shoulders with characters from local celebrities – the Vectis Remnant Squad. Characters included Darth Vader, Chewbacca and Storm Troopers who were all posing for photos before the guests moved into Cineworld’s largest screen to take their seats.
Paul Topping of Isle of Wight Radio was compare for the evening and conducted a raffle with a chance to win a large chocolate R2D2 model and a Luxury Spa Experience. The auction, which was conducted by Rex Gully of HRD Auction Rooms saw competition from the audience for lots that included a Replica Storm Trooper Helmet, Original Film Cells from’ The Empire Strikes Back’ and VIP Tickets to this year’s Isle of Wight Festival.
The amount raised by the Wightfibre Premiere of The Force Awakens in 2015 was blown out of the water with the auction making £2,200 towards a total for the event of £4,548. UKSA plan to fund their ‘Test the Water’ programme using these donations, an initiative now in its 4th year that offers Year 6 children from across the Isle of Wight the opportunity to spend half a day at UKSA with their school, taking part in a sailing or watersports session. The objective of the programme is to give children the opportunity to have a go, to overcome, to succeed and to develop confidence, at an important time when they will soon be transitioning from primary to secondary education.
Ben Willows, CEO of UKSA comments:
“We are so lucky to have the support of WightFibre to help us keep running this fantastic programme and to continue to make a real difference to young people on the Isle of Wight. We have worked with WightFibre for many years and they provide us with
a huge amount of support. This event is a brilliant platform for us to talk about our charitable work here on the Island and raise money for local children to come to UKSA, so a huge thanks to WightFibre for putting this on again.”
John Irvine, CEO of WightFibre the event hosts added:
“It was a great evening, very well attended and something unique. To raise even more than before was amazing and really helps to support the important work of UKSA.”
