Willow, founded by Bob and Megs Wilson in memory of their daughter Anna, holds its flagship ball at The Dorchester on Saturday 14 November 2026, funding special days for young adults in treatment.
Willow, the charity Bob and Megs Wilson founded in memory of their daughter Anna, holds its flagship ball at The Dorchester in Mayfair on Saturday 14 November 2026.
Bob Wilson, the Arsenal goalkeeper turned broadcaster, founded Willow with Megs in 1999. Anna died of cancer at 31, having lived with the illness for five years.
In that time she and the people around her found what she called her special days: ordinary time the treatment had not taken. Her parents built the charity on that idea.
Willow funds no research and buys no equipment. Instead it gives a day to adults between 16 and 40 in active treatment for a life-threatening condition or in palliative care. Each day is shaped around what that person wants and who they want there.
Each person receives one day, once, from a clinical referral rather than an application made on their behalf.
The 2026 ball has a drinks reception, dinner, live music, a charity auction and an after-party. It is the charity’s largest fundraising evening of the year.