Heritage Healthcare hosts final fundraising event

Heritage Healthcare is urging people to get involved in its final ever charity golf day event to raise money for a local hospice.

Heritage Healthcare is launching a bid to reach the £250,000 mark at its final charity golf day. The home care franchise has already raised around £222,000 over the last 18 years for local hospice St Teresa’s but is hoping that its final event will push it over the quarter of a million pounds figure.

Speaking about the one-off event that evolved into an annual tradition, Heritage Healthcare director Sally Pickersgill said:

“It started as a one-off 18 years ago. We had lost a close friend to cancer. She was only in her 30s and lived in Darlington but at the time there were no hospice beds in the town and she had to travel to Stockton, the ambulance having to stop three times en route. We knew we needed to do something so our friend Adrian Speir, of Landteam, organised a corporate golf day which raised more than £2,000.”

Sally and her husband Glenn realised that more fundraising needed to be done for hospices, so spoke to the team at St Teresa’s about setting up a partnership. Over the years, the event has grown and now attracts players from all across the country.

“The support has been amazing and the in-patient unit at St Teresa’s is now a fantastic success. We have met some incredible people who have played in all weathers, from hotter temperatures than Portugal to standing water on the greens and fairways. It seems appropriate to go out on a high with the 18th competition, one for every hole.”

Chief Executive at St Teresa’s Hospice, Jane Bradshaw, thanked the franchise for its fundraising efforts.

“Heritage Healthcare’s support over the years has been pivotal in the development of the hospice and in helping us sustain vital services for the people of Darlington, South Durham and North Yorkshire.”