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Ice hockey players turn up the fundraising heat

Players from one of the region’s leading sports teams have found a novel way to raise funds for their community campaign. The boys from Newcastle Mobilx Vipers will be auctioning themselves off at a charity dinner to be held later this month at St James’ Park. Led by Vipers Manager Rob Wilson, around a dozen players have agreed to be individually ‘sold off’ to the highest bidder in an impressive display of commitment to the Vipers Community Foundation, the team’s official regional charity.

Liz Pullan, Marketing Manager of the Vipers said: “We were exploring different ideas to boost fundraising efforts at our charity bash and a player auction was laughingly put forward. I was surprised and delighted when the boys agreed to take part and I’m certain we will have a lot of fun on the night.”

The prize to the winning bid will be a dinner date at Scalini’s Restaurant in Jesmond. However, Liz says she isn’t just expecting ladies in the audience to dig deep for the cause. “Our team certainly includes a number of players who would appeal to female bidders, but I also expect that parents may wish to bid for a player or two as a treat for their children.”

The Vipers Community Foundation was launched a few months ago and is reportedly a great success with schoolchildren in the region. Players have already visited 90 schools across the North East and over 6000 children have taken part in the Community Foundation activities – which encourages youngsters to take a greater interest in sport.

Tickets for the event on Tuesday 30 January are priced at £29 and are still available from Liz Pullan on 0191 242 2420.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .