Fundraising golf day suits hospice to a tee

The event, which was held at Marlborough Golf Club yesterday, saw 100 people teeing off to raise £7,000 for the charity, in Wroughton.

World snooker champion Willie Thorne took part in the event, which included a full 18 holes of golf.

Organiser Dave Haydon said: “This is the third year I have organised it. I want to put something back into the community and Prospect is a local charity and it needs such a lot of money.

“We have got 100 people playing, which is about average but with the economic climate a lot of events are struggling. This was a really good turn-out.”

The day included competitions and an evening meal and auction.

There was also a question and answer session with Swindon Town’s Fraser Digby and Paul Bodin in the evening, which was hosted by Willie. A total of 25 teams took part in the golf.

Prospect spokesman Ben Holloway said: “It has been a great turn-out. Despite the recession people are still prepared to raise money for us. It is great to see so many people supporting and a big thank you to everybody who turned up. There are quite a few teams who turn up every year.”

It is the first year the event, which is usually at Ogbourne Downs Golf Club, has been held in Marlborough.

Prospect Hospice is a registered charity, and it costs more than £5m to provide the care patients and their families depend on each year.

The hospice’s end of life care last year reached more than 1,600 people living with cancer and serious conditions in Swindon, north Wiltshire, Fairford and Lechlade.

“We have four or five events a year which raise between five and £10,000,” said Ben.

“Every event we do is vital to us. There are only a limited number of events we can run every year and we need to make money from every one of them.”

Fundraising for Prospect Hospice will continue today when 100 people are due to abseil down Jurys Inn in the town centre.

For information about raising funds for Prospect phone 01793 813355.