The charity Dare2Be, which helps unemployed women to find their feet again, has lamented pulling the plug on its New Year’s Eve fundraising party.

According to Deborah Blakeney, the group’s executive director, the charity is “still reeling following the disappointing last minute cancellation”.

“We are all extremely disheartened by the cancellation of our Night in Cuba, New Year’s Eve event,” Ms Blakeney said.

“It was scheduled to be a major fund raiser for us, but with weak ticket sales we had no option but to pull the plug before Christmas.”

Ms Blakeney said she knew the community supported the group, adding: “Unfortunately, Bermudians are notoriously last minute and with so many things hanging in the balance we simply had to make a decision.”

She added: “We do not want to be known as the charity that fails to deliver. We are 100 per cent committed to our programme, the ladies we serve, and our community. But losing money was not an option. As it is now, we are not sure how we are going to make up the loss in revenue. We just want to thank everyone who supported this Trojan effort. Our chairman Juan Prado personally put in hundreds of hours organising the event, almost single-handedly, then there was all the support we received from the members of the media and the community at large.”

In a statement issued earlier today, Ms Blakeney said the event had been particularly important to the charity not just as a fundraiser but to bring the community together under one roof.

“Like most charities in Bermuda, we rely significantly on the generosity of corporate donors, but this programme belongs to the people of Bermuda and we are always looking for ways to involve everyone in the process.

“Our event was supposed to bring Bermudians together in support of the charity and the women we serve.”

Dare2Be is now looking at a number of opportunities to recoup some of the projected revenue lost, and are hopes the for the public’s support moving forward.