Red Sky Foundation is a real example of how the smallest idea can grow to become something phenomenal and, more importantly, can make a life changing difference to so many people.
Our registered charity was born out of one simple wish, that couple Sergio and Emma Petrucci could give something back to the magnificent team at the Children’s Heart Unit at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital.
This unit is nationally recognised and treats young people from across the UK every year – often making the difference between life and death to families.
Sergio and Emma were one of these families, who faced the trauma of their little girl, Luna, having to undergo life-saving heart surgery in 2015.
On the morning of the operation, Sergio looked out of his window and saw a sky filled with fire from the morning sunrise, vowing that if his daughter fully recovered he would support the unit in any way he could.
And he made good that promise – initially launching what he would believe to be a one off fundraising dinner, the Red Sky Ball, to buy vital equipment for the hospital.
Nobody could have anticipated the success of this event, nor the £64,000 net it raised, and the Red Sky Ball fast became the “go to” event on the North East social calendar, which now attracts over 1200 guests making it the largest charity dinner in the region.
The success of the Red Sky Ball led to the creation of the annual White Party, again a hugely over subscribed daytime shindig which raises mass amounts of money for a common goal – to help save lives.
Following the huge impact made on so many lives, on Friday 20th March 2020 as the UK was plunged into lockdown, the England & Wales Charity Commission awarded Sergio and Emma’s Red Sky with full registered charitable status and their Red Sky Ball changed its name to Red Sky Foundation, allowing them to continue to grow their ambitions and its fund raising initiatives on a whole new level.