A BARNARD Castle golf pro has handed over £1,000 to the Friends of Richardson Hospital after organising several fundraising events.
Darren Pearce, golf pro at Barnard Castle Golf Club for the past 26 years, held a prize number draw during lockdown and a fundraising golf pro day when restrictions eased.
He said: “I’m part of a buying group with lots of other golf pros and one of the pros came up with the idea to hold numbers draws to raise funds for the NHS during lockdown.
“Each of us in the group did our own draw and then we were going to put it in a larger pot for the NHS.”
“People paid £5 for a number. Fifty per cent of the money went on prizes and the rest to the NHS.
“I was going to put it in the pot with all the other pros, but I wanted the money to go locally and that’s I decided it should go to the Friends of the Richardson Hospital.”
When lockdown restrictions eased Mr Pearce also organised his annual golf pro day at Barnard Castle.
He added: “I did a prize raffle as well and a couple of the companies I use regularly, Callaway and Adidas, provided some prizes.”
Mr Pearce, who is leaving the club this week, said he is taking a “little time off” to get married before taking up his new position at Headlam Hall Hotel as golf prof. He added: “I just want to thank all the members for all their help and support over the years.”
Pauline Harrison, from the Friends of Richardson Hospital, said: “It’s nice when people started to donate again. All of our fundraising activities have been halted this year.
“A lot of people miss the fetes we used to hold, so it’s lovely to receive such a big donation.”
The friends are hoping to run another fundraising stall at Barnard Castle’s mid-week Market in November but is encouraging people to donate via www.justgiving.com/forh
