Saturday 15th July saw Welford Victoria’s annual fundraiser take place in beautiful weather… and terrible weather… at the Sportsfield. Across the course of the day, over 360 guests – plus an unknown number of under 5s who entered for free – were entertained by three senior football matches, two junior tournaments and a whole raft of other entertainment as we sought to raise money for two incredible charities.
The day kicked off with a very special matching pitting the Welford Victoria Veterans (the old ones) against a team of Welford Victoria Legends (the even older ones) before two junior tournaments and two senior matches – featuring our Northamptonshire and Leicestershire teams – took place. Throughout the day, guests were entertained by our DJ booth, with a 60ft inflatable and a soft play keeping the visiting children amused. Additional entertainment came in the form of dodging the intermittent rain showers that punctuated an otherwise really rather pleasant and sunny (if a bit windy) day. Our thanks go to the visiting adult teams from Spratton Football Club and Gilmorton Football Club, as well as the junior teams from Houghton Rangers FC, North Kilworth FC, Spratton & Pitsford FC, Studs FC and Harborough Town FC.
50% of the event’s proceeds, a total of £937.50, is being donated to Hope Against Cancer, a charity we have supported for many years which has, since 2003, been discovering, delivering and sharing HOPE against cancer in our local area.
25% will be donated to a charity close to the heart of a player in the Veterans’ team, Jon Nottingham, whose young daughter Immie has been diagnosed with Opsoclonus Myoclonus Syndrome (OMS), a rare neurological autoimmune disorder that affects as few as one in ten million children. Jon is running the Royal Parks Half Marathon in October to raise funds for the Evelina London Children’s Charity who have looked after his daughter so brilliantly, so £468.75 will be donated to his JustGiving appeal on behalf of the club. (A number of players are planning additional fundraisers for Jon’s appeal, with two of them actually signing up to join him on the run).
The remaining 25% will be used by the club to cover its operating costs, insurances, equipment and suchlike.
Club Chairman Barrie Dowsett and a team of volunteers again invested a huge amount of time to make this happen and he was again keen to thank them.
“We have four incredibly special football teams here, but they are backed up by an equally incredible committee that it is my privilege to Chair. Beyond even that, though, there is with a wider group of volunteers who help out running the bar, the DJ booth, the admissions gate, the barbecue, running football tournaments, setting up, tiding and more tasks than I can possibly name.”
Dowsett continued, “this event is a focal point for their work because of the huge sums we raise, but really I’d like to thank them each and every day. To raise pretty much exactly what we did last year despite the economic environment is an achievement of which they should be hugely proud.”
Event Photos
Our fabulous photographer, and club vice chair, has again posted image galleries to Facebook;
Welford Victoria Leicestershire vs Spratton FC
Welford Victoria Northamptonshire vs Gilmorton FC
Postscript
Those of you who know Barrie will already have heard, and perhaps even more than once, that he scored a goal in the match he played. As Chairman, he has pulled rank and insisted the photographic evidence be published…
