Steve hosted the inaugural sweetheart Ball in 2017 for the Nicole & Jessica Rich Foundation. It was staged at the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead. The ball then changed venues to the Grand Hotel Gosforth Park. He continues to host the ball to the present day.

The Foundation was set up by Gail and Matthew Rich, to raise awareness of Batten Disease. It’s a progressive deterioration of the brain and nervous system, for which there is currently no cure. It also aims to fund medical research, make a difference and bring hope to others.

Children are healthy and develop normally for the first few years of their lives then their development begins to slow and begin to regress and their speech will decline. Children start to become unsteady of their feet, eventually resulting in them being unable to walk. Epilepsy is a huge part of the condition. Seizures may be controlled through medication but will always recur. Vision is gradually lost. By the age of 6, most children will be completely dependent on their families and carers for all of their daily needs. Children with this condition are not expected to survive into their teens.
To learn more about the foundation, or to get involved, visit Nicole & Jessica Rich Foundation

To learn more about the foundation, or to get involved, visit Nicole & Jessica Rich Foundation

Thank you to the followin for the images

Nadia Greaves

Louise Warburton

Zoe Campbell