A champion at a charity which helps to prevent men's suicide has organised a glitzy event to "give something back" to the organisation.
Andy's Man Club facilitator Luke Tetlow-Cross and his wife Claire will be hosting The Bury Black Tie Ball at the Village Hotel at Waterfold Business Park on July 8.
The event will include welcome drinks and entertainment from Destiny Choir, magic from Scoop Magic, music from live rock band BlackBalled and Ben Hart will be the comedy host.
There will also be a three-course meal, silent auction, raffle and a DJ on until late.
Luke, who said he has dealt with anxiety and stress for most of his adult life, joined Andy's Man Club Rochdale in March 2021.
He said: “I use to go to dad for a catch-up and he was very supportive but he would usually give me bad advice and then finish it off with a terrible dad joke.
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“Unfortunately, on November 16, 2020, my dad went into the hospital with a chest infection and three days later, on November 19, he passed away from Covid.
“My wife had been telling me about Andy's Man Club for a while after seeing a poster for it at her local gym and it took me three months to get the nerves to walk into my first meeting.”
Luke became a facilitator in August 2021 at the Rochdale branch and a year later, he was given the opportunity to bring the club to Bury.
He said: “Since then I've been open about sharing my story which I never did in the past.
“At the first meeting in Bury, we were expecting four or five people but were shocked to see 25 men walking through the door, since then we've been getting around 50 or 60 men on a regular basis.
“The reason I'm doing a charity ball in aid of Andy's Man Club is that it's changed me as a person and helped me through my darkest moments.”
Tickets to the ball are £45 per person with a small booking fee added on at the checkout.
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The ball will run from 6pm until 1am and there are around 30 tickets remaining however, Luke said there could be an opportunity to release more depending on sales.
Headline sponsors of the event, Senior Waste Removals, said they had followed the men's mental health charity for a while and are great supporters of what they do.
Company owner Warren Senior said: "We at Senior Waste Removals believe in the importance of men’s Mental health.
"Charities like Andy's Man Club and events like what Luke is organising are important and spread awareness.
"Having experienced the loss associated with suicide, I hope Andy’s Man Club can keep supporting men and getting them to talk."
For more information on tickets and the dress code, see here.
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