Charity has happy start to the new year thanks to golf club

A cheque for £32,200 was presented to Michele Fleming, chief executive of Headway East Sussex in Newick, on Monday January 1 following the club’s year long fundraising efforts.

She said: “Headway East Sussex was delighted to be the 2017 chosen charity for Haywards Heath Golf Club and we are overwhelmed at the generosity of its members.

“Having been involved in some of the fundraising events myself I have been especially impressed by the warm community spirit of the members and their families who have been so inventive and committed to raising much needed funds for our charity.”

Coffee mornings, raffles, donations, auctions, a darts marathon, a race night, a fashion show and a bridge drive are all usual fundraisers at the golf club, but creative fundraising initiatives included: David Pickering playing golf from dawn to dusk; auctioning a Magnum ice cream and raising £30 and purchasing a choice of seat allocation on the coach for the captain’s away break.

The Tough Mudder Challenge was taken up by newlyweds Adam and Jess Cattell, Adam’s work colleagues, friends and club captain Phil Keerie.

The team completed a 12 mile cross country run interspersed with over 20 different obstacles and raised over £4,000 an amazing achievement.

The Captains Charity Day itself raised over £15,000 with 140 players raising money.

There was the introduction of a new event Speed Golf on the 12th hole, a par 5, 474 yard hole, being completed in one minute 20 seconds.

Winning the competition were Les and his Golden Girls (the three Ladies in his team all in their 80’s).

Twins Lily and Becks also raised over £355 by cleaning clubs.

The money raised will be used to update the charity’s physiotherapy area and to provide new facilities: the use of the hydrotherapy pool and a fully equipped training kitchen at nearby Chailey Heritage School will offer clients a range of new rehabilitation opportunities.

Michele added: “This is a tremendously generous donation which will enable us to provide vital gym and physiotherapy services and to run cookery and life skills programmes.

We want to express our heartfelt thanks for the generosity of the Haywards Heath Golf Club community – they have made a real difference to the lives of local people living with brain injury.”