Team scores £3,500 for cancer funds
A Sunday League football team has netted thousands of pounds for charity in memory of two club stalwarts.
Hylton Castle TWR decided to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support after long-standing chairman Norman Nellins and team manager Phillip Monson’s dad Martin both died from the illness.
Instead of having a usual end-of-season presentation night, the team’s committee decided to dedicate an event to the charity, which helped both men and their families.
And it proved to be a huge success, scoring £3,500 for the organisation.
Mick Sloanes, the team’s manager, said: “We wanted to give something back to Macmillan after the wonderful support they had offered to Norman and Martin.
“We would usually have a presentation evening at the end of the season, this year was special as we also managed to win a cup competition, but rather than just having a presentation night the committee decided to have a fundraising night, with all proceeds going to Macmillan.
“The main event organiser was Jeff Leighton, our club president, who really took the event on and more or less pulled everything together. The time and effort he put in was unbelievable.
“He arranged prizes, raffles and donations and raised £600 alone by auctioning prize winning pigeons. His input was invaluable and without him the event wouldn’t have got off the ground.
“We also had huge support from our club sponsor TWR Bi-fold Doors, as Terry Richardson, the managing director, has supported the team financially over the past seven years.
“He supported the event magnificently with a significant donation and his support allows the team to exist, so a huge ‘thank you’ to Terry and his family.”
The fundraising night included a performance from band Sons Of Eden, who waived their fee, while donations from businesses helped to boost the total.
Mick added: “We are extremely grateful to everyone who attended the sell-out evening and hope to continue the fundraising presentation nights for many years to come.
“We feel that the support that Macmillan offer people is invaluable and we hope that we can continue to help out in any way possible.”
Jill Campbell, North East area fundraising manager for Macmillan, said: “We are so very grateful to everyone involved for their incredible generosity and support.”