FUNDRAISING HIGHLIGHTS
FUNDRAISING HIGHLIGHTS With the help of our wonderful supporters, we have continued to adapt our fundraising to changing circumstances. Our virtual Carol Service in December was extremely well received, as was our new Fit4Feb challenge, which had over 400 sign-ups and raised £10,000. We’ve been told it provided some great motivation for people during lockdown. Early March saw the launch of an exciting new project, Master the Art of Painting, a series of online sessions taught by professional artists with the aim to inspire people to get creative and support mental health. Fortunately, the updated roadmap out of lockdown is now giving us the chance to start planning in-person events, starting with our annual Texas Scramble golf tournament in May. This is the first fundraising report since Rachel Waller’s retirement and our fundraising team and amazing supporters are committed to building on her tremendous success. Natalie Norris has joined the team as Trusts and Grants Fundraising Officer, a hugely important role – I’m sure you’ll all join me in welcoming her to Charlie Waller. Thank you, as always, for your incredible support. GEORGIE MILES FUNDRAISING MANAGER
SPORTS AND GAMES
Sporting fixtures have been harder to organise during the pandemic but our supporters haven’t let it hold them back.
Texas scramble Ascot, Henley, Wimbledon, Glastonbury, The Great Dorset Steam Fair: one by one the sporting and cultural gatherings of 22
Thank you to ALL our supporter s
the English summer were torpedoed by the plague year 2020. But it would take more to stop the Trust’s annual golf day, now in its 22nd year. Ever agile, the team rescheduled between resurgent spikes and we gathered once again at Badgemore Park, magnificently lent by John Connell whose support for the Trust has been steadfast over two decades and more. Golf was one of the few activities still permitted. That is because it is essentially anti social. ‘A good walk spoiled’ doesn’t get near it. Hours carrying a heavy bag of implements, whose purpose you dimly recollect; tramping heather, wood and bog in search of the ball you just bought, while thinking bloody thoughts about the futility of everything. You spend most of the time alone, gathering briefly beside the cup, to pretend to enjoy your opponent’s prowess. But it’s all for a good cause. So this year our team selected one Jason Bateman, new to this tournament and with a handicap of just two. The OED tells me that ‘ringer’ is a horse racing term — referring to the practice of fraudulently substituting in a faster horse. But this was all above board. And what a pleasure it was to see the game played properly. At the 22nd time of asking, our non-playing captain John Weatherby collected the trophy. Another with a perfect attendance record at this event was Tim Billington, a stalwart supporter of the Trust, whose Wimbledon debentures featured as star prizes at so many auctions. Very sadly Tim died last year. His brother, Tony Billington, spoke movingly about Tim and his contribution to the work of the Trust. Not all Covid work-arounds should be jettisoned if and when ‘normality’ returns. Lunch al fresco on the Club’s terrace is surely a keeper. Happily we don’t have to wait a full year for the 23rd renewal of this essential event. See you all back at Badgemore in May. IAIN WEATHERBY
