The Isle of Man Live at Home Schemes chariy has received a donation of £4,000.

The money was raised at a Hawaiian-themed summer party where more than 150 staff and partners at SMP Partners enjoyed an evening of tiki-themed cocktails, hula skirts and tropical celebrations.

The money was the first donation of the year to its chosen charity of 2018 and was raised raised in a raffle, at the annual fundraising get-together at the Best Western Palace Hotel and Casino in Douglas.

Chief executive of Isle of Man Live at Home Schemes Jackie Bridson said: ’We were thrilled to be presented with a cheque for £4,000. We rely almost entirely on fundraising and voluntary donations so to be selected by such an established island firm as its charity of the year, and to know that it values the work that we do, is an honour.

’This year marks the 20th anniversary of Live at Home on the Island and we want to celebrate this by widening our reach and offering our support and services to even more people in our community. SMP Partners’ kind donation will help enormously and I am delighted that staff were able to enjoy a Hawaiian-themed celebration on the same evening as raising lots of money.’

The party is just one of many fundraising events which takes place throughout the year. Further funds are raised from a variety of events including local theatre bucket collections, Parish Walk sponsorship and casual clothes money.

A total of 25 raffle prizes was kindly donated by local businesses for this year’s party, with all proceeds going to Isle of Man Live at Home Schemes.

The charity is committed to improving the quality of life for more than 600 of the Island’s old people, supporting members in various ways so they can continue to live independently.

Through running social groups such as lunches, shopping clubs, coffee mornings and film clubs, as well as befriending members with the support of more than 300 volunteers, the schemes aim to tackle isolation and loneliness in our community.

SMP Partners managing director Mark Denton said: ’We are proud to be a part of the Isle of Man community and believe that supporting local causes is so important, which is why we dedicate time and resources each year to make sure we are doing what we can to make a difference.

’Our annual party is always great fun and everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy this year’s tiki theme. I am so pleased we managed to raise such a brilliant amount for the charity which works hard to improve the quality of life for older people on the Island. Let’s hope we can continue with the momentum and are able to match what we have raised for local charities over the years.

’I would like to say a big thank you to everyone that kindly donated a raffle prize, to the team at Ginger Events who dressed the room to perfection and not forgetting UKEBOX and Steelband Music Ltd who provided first-class entertainment on the evening.’

SMP Partners thanked all the organisations for their generous raffle prize donations; Barclays Bank, Best Western Palace Hotel & Casino, Brightlife, Bushy’s Brewery, Cannon Hygiene Manx, Capital International Group, Edward Bryan Removals, Elegance Taxi Service, FCX Worldwide Express, Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, Majestic Chinese Restaurant, Mannin Group, Nedbank Private Wealth, Newfield, Okell’s Brewery, Portofino Restaurant, RBS International, Seven Kingdom Distillery, Standard Bank, Tandoor Indian Restaurant, The Tea Junction, Titley Cleaners, The Abbey Restaurant & The Forge and Words & Spaces