Firefly International Gala - Tuesday11th November
Firefly International is raising money for Firefly International
Story
Firefly is raising funds for ongoing arts and education projects for youth in Bosnia and the occupied Palestinian territories run by local partners in multicultural environments of security and understanding.
THE EVENT
The Firefly Gala is being held on Tuesday 11th November in the historic setting of The Museum of The Order of St John, in the City of London.
Special Guest appearances by:
Joanna David & Julian Fellowes
Musical Performances by:
The Students of the Royal Academy of Music, plus Téa Hodžic and Lis Murphy from Musicians without Borders & Saska Haramina of Balkanarama
What are we raising money for? Firefly has exciting plans for the future. We recently agreed to expand our partnership with Project Hope. We want to broaden the scope and quality of our engagement with both partners by significantly increasing the funds we raise and diversifying the support we give, building outward from the core team of qualified experts we have already assembled. Firefly and its partners remain volunteer driven. There are two ways individuals can best support us, by volunteering or donating. Donations are particularly vital to expand and sustain our important youth work, allowing us to capitalise on a dynamic approach that allows Svitac and Project Hope support large numbers of children on modest budgets.
Firefly International - Background
Ellie Maxwell, the founder of Svitac and Firefly, tragically died aged 32 in 2009, of complications from cancer. Ellie’s life was cut short, but her work continues. Through her initiative, Firefly International continues to thrive.
At 21, she founded Firefly International, a Scottish charity whose mission is to foster multi-ethnic youth projects in Bosnia and elsewhere. To fund Firefly in the beginning, she enlisted fellow Edinburgh University students to canvass the neighbourhood. Edinburgh pubgoers were the most generous early givers. Later, the Princess of Wales Charitable Trust joined the list, giving substantial support. Additionally, Ellie was awarded 'fellowships for future leaders' from the Clore Leadership Program and the Bertelsmann Foundation, although Firefly and the broadening of its activities in other parts of the world continued to be the real focus of her considerable energies. As Firefly grew in impact in Bosnia, Ellie was awarded Young Achiever of the Year (1997) at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, by the Queen, and Catholic Woman of the Year 1998.
“For social change to occur,” Ellie wrote, “people’s networks of friends, acquaintances and colleagues must cross the boundaries of race, nationality or language, along which they are often based”.