A clay shoot held at the Bransford Manor home of estate agent Andrew Grant and his wife Bea has raised more than £50,000 for St Richard’s Hospice.
The event was organised by Mr Grant, a hospice patron and St Richard’s supporter Georgina Britten-Long of Wichenford. The shoot has been held six times and has raised more than £200,000 for the Worcestershire charity.
The sun shone over the small valley where 30 teams of four members took part in the clay shoot which was run by Alan Bewley and his staff from the Throckmorton Shooting School. The Hereford and Worcester Army Cadets undertook the scoring.
Mr Grant said, “This wonderful amount is entirely due to the generosity of our sponsors, the teams that took part and those who supplied lots for the charity auction. It was a very well supported occasion and fortunately the weather was very kind to us.”
“The top scorer was the Old Cider Mill team of local developer Kenny Alton,” Mr Grant added, “with Paul Trotman as the top scorer. The ‘young guns’ prize for the best young shots went to the pairing of James Naylor and my son Freddie. “
There was a lunch and charity auction which included an array of prizes from lunch at the House of Lords, a tour of the gardens of Highgrove, foreign holidays, fishing and shooting days to a morning on the gallops with top race horse trainers Venetia Williams and Nicky Henderson.
The event is held bi-annually and Mrs Britten-Long said: “Another tremendous day and it’s only 720 days to go until the next one! It is worth all the slog when you achieve such a substantial sum for a great cause.”
St Richard’s Director of Fundraising, Tricia Cavell, said, “We are extremely grateful to Andrew and Georgina for organising the clay shoot and for raising such a staggering amount of money for the hospice. It’s a great example of how the community can pull together and make a difference to our hospice care for patients and families.”
St Richard’s Hospice provides free specialist palliative care for patients living with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses and supports their families. Each year the hospice team supports over 2,500 patients and family members in Worcestershire.
Patients are cared for in Day Hospice, the 17-bed In-patient Unit or in their own homes by a specialist professional team as well as many trained volunteers.
In the In-patient Unit specialist staff are on hand 24 hours a day to manage patients’ symptoms and where, if appropriate, patients may spend the last few days of life in comfort and dignity. St Richard’s is an independent charity and is grateful for all donations to help them to continue their work.