Home of the Ryder Cup raises more than �10,000 for children’s hospice

A CHILDREN’S hospice is nearly �12,000 better off after generous golfers dug deep in St Albans to raise much-needed cash for the charity.

Verulam Golf Club, home of the Ryder Cup in the heart of the city, held a charity golf day for Keech Hospice Care last Friday, May 27.

Sponsors and supporters helped raise, “a fantastic �11,742,” according to golfer Jamie Pollard, one of the organisers. Participants enjoyed a round at the golf club, on London Road, and bid at a charity auction for sports items including a signed Arsenal shirt and football and a signed Alec Stewart cricket bat.

Another organiser, Richard Hunt, said he knows that Keech Hospice does a “fantastic job” as his family had used the hospice service on a regular basis for respite care after his daughter Rosie was born with complications.

Staff at Keech help people in Herts, Beds and Milton Keynes by offering medical and social care, emotional support and friendship to the whole family. The charity must raise 75 per cent of its �2.5 million annual running costs through voluntary fundraising and donations.

Barbara Farrow, part of the hospice’s fundraising team, said the charity day, attended by 100 golf enthusiasts, was “absolutely fantastic.”

She added: “We couldn’t carry on doing what we do at Keech without the support of Richard and his committee.”