Sandro Morelli, owner of Villa Tiberio Restaurant in Marbella, held his annual Fundraising Gala Evening on Sunday 4^th November, after more than 10 years of collaboration with local and international charities with the aim to help the Spanish Red Cross & Cudeca Cancer Care Hospice raising almost €30.000 during this last edition of the well-known gala.

Guests were received by the Villa Tiberio personnel and both the NGOs around 7.30pm at a champagne reception, where charity raffle tickets were being sold by the Red Cross & CUDECA volunteers before they were seated for dinner to be served. Host and MC for the night, Mr Nathan Dean welcomed guests in his charming and deep voice which delighted everyone present. Performances followed up with stars such Tony Watson, Miss Zoe Hughes, Miss Helena Paul, Simona & Mr Maph, Stelvis, The Colonel & Mr Ron Howells on guitar, Mr Frank Valentine and many other artists. One of the most emotional moments of the night was the loving tribute to Mel Williams by all the artists gathering together to sing the famous Joe Cocker´s With a little help from my friends. Mel Williams, who had recently passed away, will always be remembered by all his friends and artists as one of the most shinny British stars of the Costa del Sol, where he had spent most of his life. After the tribute, guests were invited to the garden to enjoy a magnificent spectacle of fireworks to celebrate the British bonfires at the Guy Fawkes night, courtesy of Sandro Morelli.

Engracia Meléndez, Vice President of Marbella Red Cross, was proud to declare that: “being part of this huge event is an honor, not only for the Marbella Red Cross but for the whole organization. We have been extremely lucky to have been chosen to receive these donations which will allow us to dedicate more time, energy and resources to the ones who need us the most”. On behalf of the Cudeca Hospice, Susan Hannam, Vice President and Former Nursing Supervisor, confessed with emotion that: “Sandro´s help is one of the most important assets for our hospice since he brings so many others in his quest to help the ones that need it. Sandro has been helping CUDECA for much more than 10 years and we are very proud and honor to have him with us. All of you who come along because of Sandro Morelli, thank you very much. We need your help to continue caring for more patients and families at the end of life”.

For this year´s gala many gifts were donated for the charity raffle and auction. Among all, the Paul Yaffe Photo shooting, the Marylyn Monroe Montage, an art work of Andrés Mérida (Andalucian artist), a week at Puente Romano Hotel, a Connor McGregor picture frame, a signed Manchester United shirt, a Queen Band Plaque donated by Brian May, 3 luxury packages of photo shooting with Photomarbella, a stay at the Kempiski Hotel, a signed Arsenal football shirt, Green Fees at some of the best golf courses of the Costa del Sol, a handmade blanket by Ana Rodríguez Salas, a handmade doll´s house by Kathy Salas and a couture dress tailor-made by local designer, Fran Gallardo, associate of designer Pertegaz.

Special thanks are sent to all artists who performed including guests, who were extremely generous during the raffle and the auction, Red Cross & CUDECA volunteers as the organization helpers, who make the work much easier and improve the quality of the evening, & to the restaurant staff, who feed guests and the rest of the team nicely and smoothly.  Also, huge thanks to Sandro Morelli, owner of restaurant Villa Tiberio, for a great evening of solidarity and encouraging fundraising in aid of Red Cross & Cudeca Hospice.

Thank you.

Red Cross Española has advocated for the accommodation of refugees in our country and for the establishment of safe paths for exercising their right of asylum since the beginning of the migrant crisis. Nowadays, the Spanish Red Cross has 1.990 temporary accommodation places in 42 regions. With a percentage of more than 90%, they keep networking with the objective of arriving to 2.500. During 2017, up to 1.700 asylum seekers that fled their countries of origin due to armed conflicts, violence situations, ideological or religious persecutions. This organization currently has in the region of Malaga 137 temporary accommodation places distributed in three centres. At the end of 2017, they were benefited with an economical donation to carry out activities with the minors’ refugees that are attended in the Migrants and Refugees Care Program in Malaga, a contribution obtained by 2017 edition of this fundraising gala celebrated in Villa Tiberio.