Grandma's sadness as families bail on £1.5k festive party for disabled kids
But Iris Otton said she was 'overwhelmed' by the feedback she received from grateful parents
Alex GroveSenior reporter
A great-grandma who spent £1,500 on a Christmas party for disabled children was left "distraught" after only half of the families turned up to the free event.
Foster carer Iris Otton, who has donated more than £50,000 to charity over the years, put on a magical festive extravaganza at the Goodfellowship Inn in Cottingham on Sunday, December 10.
The 70-year-old, who lives in Keyingham with her husband Ray, 71, had been working on the event since February securing entertainers, a buffet and presents for the pricey bash.
However, after months of preparation and fundraising, Mrs Otton was left downbeat when only seven of the 16 families who said they were coming attended on the day.
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Iris Otton with her husband Ray at Sunday's festive party
She said: "I was distraught to start with and I just thought it was a little bit rude because it was all free.
"I understand that the children are disabled so possibly they were ill but they could have let me know.
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"It was all over Facebook and I sent messages saying 'don't forget the party.'
"I was just angry that I had made individual presents and those children missed out."
The party was enjoyed by a number of disabled youngsters thanks to Iris' generosity
However, despite her initial sadness at the lack of families who came, Mrs Otton was over the moon by the end of the event with all the parents praising her for putting on a celebration that catered for disabled children.
She said: "I was very disappointed but at the same time I now know that had all the families turned up it would have been too much.
"The ones that did come were the ones that were meant to come.
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"I was overwhelmed with the people that came who said that they had never been to anywhere like this before.
"It brought me to tears. It was so wonderful."
The youngsters were given special gifts by Father Christmas
Disabilities run in Mrs Otton's family and this inspired her to put on the festive party.
Growing up, she cared for her older sister who suffered from a number of unknown physical and mental disabilities.
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Later in life, her great-grandson Brooklyn Haley had to have his head pieced back together "like a jigsaw" after being born with sagittal craniosynostosis.
Iris was motivated to help by her great-grandson Brooklyn (right) who has sagittal craniosynostosis
With personal motivations to spur her on, Mrs Otton was determined to help youngsters with conditions ranging from cranial facial release to muscular dystrophy, so that they could enjoy Christmas like any other child.
"Everybody there said how wonderful it was and how happy they were," she said.
"I have no regrets whatsoever and I am so happy with how it worked out.
"The manager at the Goodfellowship Inn helped me right through the year to raise the money.
"They didn't charge me for the room and they did beautiful food for the children.
"If I did another one I would stick to the seven families that attended because it was just the right number for the venue we had."
Mrs Otton, who has ten great-granchildren, donated the remaining presents which were not picked up by the families who didn't attend to the Preston Road Women's Centre in east Hull.
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