TORONTO - On Saturday, March 29th, the 5th Annual East Coast Charity Ball (ECCB) was held at the Dominion Club in downtown Toronto. The elegant venue provided a fitting setting for the event's fifth anniversary. The East Coast Charity Ball is a formal event that raises proceeds for the Daytrippers Children's Charity. ECCB has raised more than $75,000 in the last five years.

"The East Coast Charity Ball chose to support Daytrippers Children's Charity for two reasons: it is a volunteer group of young professionals that believed that close to 100 per cent of their funds should go directly to sending underprivileged children on day-trips and secondly, as a small non-profit, the proceeds from the ECCB significantly impact the success of the organization," said Andy Chabassol, event Chair of the Charity Ball.

As in previous years, the Charity Ball's main attraction was a great dance party with more than 400 revelers dancing to a mix of east coast music and dance classics from the 1970s to the 1990s.

This year the East Coast Charity Ball introduced a silent auction and a private dinner for sponsors and friends including IKON Office Solutions, Clearwater Seafoods, Credit Swisse, Genworth Financial, Ceridian Canada, EPCOR, Microsoft Canada and NuCove Development Corporation. Directors from East Coast Connected also purchased a table. The silent auction raised more than $7,000 and included prizes generously donated by Porter Airlines, Microsoft, Salida Capital, Tim Horton's and an MBA Essentials course from the Rotman School of Management.

Also new this year, was the addition of a live auction to fund day-trips in Nova Scotia and in Ontario. The auction was facilitated by the evening's auctioneer Josh Gold, who encouraged a friendly competition among bidders to raise more than $1,000 for both provinces.

"The guests that I brought to the event had a fantastic time. We had attended the ball in the past and thought that this year's format and venue were great," said Sean Smith, Canadian President of IKON Office Solutions.

The East Coast Charity Ball volunteer committee has already begun planning for the 6th Annual Charity Ball and additional volunteers are needed. Visit http://www.eastcoastcharityball.com for more information on getting involved.