We have fundraising down to a tee!

The Golf Day that I had booked back in September 2012 was suddenly upon us. All I had done for the previous week was check the BBC Weather app on my phone, praying for good weather for our annual charity event, which was to be held on Wednesday 11th September. This was our fourth consecutive golf day at Abridge Golf & Country Club; a truly special club that I have been attending since I was a little girl caddying for my dad early on a Sunday morning. I know the club well and it was lovely to be back there with my colleagues, clients and friends of our firm.

I love Abridge Golf Club, it has the best atmosphere in the clubhouse and the staff are always friendly, warm and accommodating. I’m not a golfer so can’t comment on the stunning 18 hole golf course but all I can say is from the looks on the faces of the golfers upon their return to the clubhouse that it’s challenging to say the least! Most of the men looked in need of a lie down!

The Golf Day is one of my favourite events of the year - I love organising it and seeing it come together on the day. We were raising funds for our nominated charity Hopes & Dreams, who we have been supporting for nearly 3 years now. I am on their Committee and get to see what it takes to secure funds for a small charity – to say it’s no easy task is an understatement. The team behind the charity work so hard and what they bring to the lives of unwell children is truly incredible. We dedicate ourselves to raising money to enable them to continue their great work – and I’m proud to say that Raffingers has raised around £17,000 them so far. We had around 40 golfers attend this year’s event and the weather was cloudy but thankfully dry! Oh the relief! After the golfers recovered from the strenuous activities on the golf course and were all immaculate once more we all settled down to a 3-course gala dinner and an awards presentation that recognised the day’s best golfers. A raffle was also held after dinner, which raised £465, bringing the total funds raised to £1500. It was wonderful to see The Redbridge Mayor attend the dinner along with Ruth Salahi, the Chairwoman of Hopes & Dreams together with some of volunteers from charity.

There is nothing greater for me than seeing familiar and contented faces at our golf day and it’s always gratifying to see new people support us. I’m already looking ahead to next year’s event which is already booked for the 9th July 2014. Staging it earlier in the year will (hopefully!) mean the weather is on our side. So, lets us get planning for 2014 and make sure the golf day is bigger, better and brighter than before…and raises even more funds for our chosen charity!