Yorkshire Evening Post's 10th annual Oliver Awards help raise hundreds of pounds for charity

A silent auction held on the night, organised by Impulse Decisions, raised £690.90 for charity Action Against Hunger, who also sponsored the awards, presenting the Best Hotel/Restaurant category.

The charity offers support to children in war-torn and famine-hit countries, providing food, clean water, medical care and shelter.

Tom Hesketh, business development manager from Impulse Decisions, said the company helped raise £24,000 in 2017 through Johnston Press North events, including the Oliver Awards.

He said: “It costs the charity and event organiser nothing, it runs in the background and hopefully provides a bit of variety on the night. Over the course of the year, we raise a substantial amount of money for good causes. We work with 280 charities across the UK.”

Colette Burroughs-Rose from Action Against Hunger said she was very pleased with the money raised at this year’s Oliver Awards, adding: “It’s fantastic and will do a lot of good. We are proud of the fact 92p in the pound goes to the programmes we support. Just £1 helps feed a child for a day, £42 is enough to save the life of a child. We work across the world, wherever we are needed the most, in Yemen, Nigeria, South Sudan and more.”

Host of the ceremony and Look North news presenter Harry Gration also chose to donate his fee to a charity of our choice. YEP editor Hannah Thaxter chose to donate the money to St George’s Crypt, which works with homeless people in Leeds and was started in 1930 by the Rev Percy Donald Robins.