A fundraising ball is being held in Cardiff next month, and members of South Wales Police Federation are invited to attend.

The ball, which is taking place on Saturday 19 October at the Principality Stadium, is raising money for Thin Blue Line UK, a mental health charity that was launched following the deaths of officers Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone in 2012. 

Inspector Gary Craig, of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, established Thin Blue Line UK to raise awareness of the dangers and sacrifices involved with policing but soon started to accept donations from other charities such as the Care of Police Survivors (COPS) and Police Care UK.

Gary said: “After the murders of Nicola and Fiona, there was a massive outpouring of support for police officers, but as is usually the case, that disappeared pretty quickly.

“I wanted to do something which kept that momentum going, and so cops out there knew they were cared for. When it became clear we were reaching out to a fair few people with this, it made sense to start using the connection to raise money for charities that remind police of their value.

“A few years later, we held our first fundraising ball in Edinburgh, and that was an amazing evening – we raised roughly £9,000 for these very closely related causes, and we were ready to continue full steam ahead with our mission.”

As Thin Blue Line continued to grow, it formalised into its own registered charity in 2019.

With this came official partnerships – most notably with Thrive Mental Wellbeing, the only independent mental health support platform regulated by the NHS.

Therapists

Through exclusive access codes provided by Thin Blue Line, officers can get immediate help from trained and regulated therapists around the clock on the Thrive app.

Gary continued: “We have a number of great sponsorships and partnerships, but Thrive is our most public-facing partner and the most significant way we are offering care to the beneficiaries of our charity.

“We want to give officers the confidence and faith to reach out, knowing they’re going to receive first-class support.

“When it comes to mental health, we truly have the best interests of police at heart. I think there’s that trust in us, too, because we’re run by officers, for officers. We are totally on our own and have no affiliation with the Force.

“And we see that level of trust in action with the generosity of donations and with the backing of events like the fundraising ball.”

The success of its first edition saw the ball become an annual occasion, with nights since held in Belfast, Manchester, Liverpool - and now, Cardiff.

“I am very excited to finally bring the ball to Wales, and to such an amazing venue in the country’s largest stadium,” Gary added.

Socialise

“I think it is important that we come to every region in the UK and engage with police officers from all over. Every single one of us deserves to feel appreciated, and I think a big way of doing that is by having a night where we can enjoy ourselves and remember how brilliant we are.”

The black-tie evening, which begins at 6pm, will feature a drinks reception, a three-course meal, live music from award-winning event band The Verge, peeches from a range of people, including Gary and guests, such as the Chief Constable of South Wales Police, Jeremy Vaughan.

A raffle and auction will also take place, with attendees having the chance to mingle and socialise throughout the night.

“The ball has been hugely successful before and I have no doubt it will be again in Cardiff," Gary added.

“We can’t wait to welcome our Welsh colleagues and give them a night to remember."

Tickets for the ball are priced at £80 and can be purchased by Federation members from the Thin Blue Line website.

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