Member Article

Golfers in full swing for helping hospice

CHARITABLE golfers were in full swing as they teed off for an annual hospice fundraiser. Twenty three teams from across the North East and Yorkshire took to the fairways and greens at Blackwell Golf Club, Darlington, for the 17th Heritage Healthcare golf day raising around £12,000 for St Teresa’s Hospice.

The event, which has to date raised in excess of £220,000, assists the hospice in providing free care and support for residents of Darlington, South West Durham and North-Yorkshire who are affected by life-limiting illness.

Director of Heritage Healthcare and honorary member of the Darlington and District Hospice Movement Sally Pickersgill said: “Once again we have had a fantastic day with teams travelling from as far as Leeds, Newcastle and Sunderland to take part.

“The golf day brings together incredible support from individuals and local businesses who not only enter the competition but who also provide prizes for the winners, raffle and our charity auction.

“St Teresa’s does incredible work and is such an important part of our community so it’s wonderful to see teams returning year on year to help us to continue our fundraising efforts.”

Winners of the event were Middlesbrough-based Advanced Vehicle Leasing who accumulated 103 points across the 18-hole course.

Managing director Stuart Beagrie, who was joined by team members Eddie Hides, Kris York and David Gray, said: “This is our third charity golf day with Heritage Healthcare and the second time that we have taken the overall trophy.

“Last year we finished in third place so it’s nice to be back on top again. The whole day is so well organised and is in aid of such a great cause that we will definitely be back next year to defend our title.”

Chief executive of St Teresa’s Hospice Jane Bradshaw added: “Heritage Healthcare have been incredible supporters of our hospice for over 16 years.

“In that time we have gone from having no inpatient unit and no complementary therapy and counselling facilities to having a fantastic purpose-built in-patient unit which has seen over 200 patient admissions since it opened two years ago.

“It also offers a full service of complimentary, feel-good and counselling therapies, an innovative rapid response nursing team which responds to patients in their homes within one hour of a call and within the last week we have become the first hospice in the region, and one of the first in the whole country, to be added to the national 999/111 Directory of Services.

“None of this would be possible without amazing people like Sally and her husband Glenn hosting events like this and the incredible people that come along to support them. It makes me so proud that we can do justice to all of their efforts in the work that we do at St Teresa’s.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sarah French .