Kisharon Langdon fundraising dinner raises £1.7 million

Kisharon Langdon’s fundraising dinner welcomed more than 750 guests to Grosvenor House on Wednesday, raising an extraordinary £1.7 million to support its life-changing services for people with learning disabilities and autism.

The charity, formed in 2023 following the merger of Kisharon with Langdon College in Manchester, featured 17 of the people it supports in various roles as a part of the evening, ranging from helping at reception, assisting with production and MCing on stage.

The theme of the evening was “This my Life”, and the event included a performance from Britain’s Got Talent finalists, Electric Umbrella, who performed a bespoke song written in collaboration with pupils from the Wohl Campus, Kisharon Noé School, a Loftus Learning Centre.

Addressing the packed room, Kisharon Langdon chief executive Richard Franklin said: “Your presence here tonight is more than support. It is a statement. A statement that people with learning disabilities and autistic people deserve to thrive. Because of supporters like you, our services continue to grow and evolve, even in the most challenging times.”

Citing some of the achievements made cross the organisation, Franklin shared that the Wohl Employment Programme has supported 72 people into employment or work equivalence and its Friday Night Dinners have quadrupled in size, now being attended by more than 70 people.

“These achievements show what we can do when we work together,” he added. “But sustaining and growing these services isn’t easy. This year alone, we need to raise £4.6 million to meet rising costs and increasing demand. The generosity shown in this room tonight is vital to ensuring we can continue delivering safe, high-quality, transformative support.”

Chair of the Kisharon Langdon fundraising dinner, Nicole Ronson Allalouf, praised the event for platforming “community, connection, and celebrating lives lived with purpose and possibility” while the charity’s co-chairs, Nick Doffman and Philip Goldberg, highlighted how the merger “has created an organisation with deeper expertise, broader reach, and a more unified vision.”