Paul Howe and his brother David battle it out at Sutton Untied to raise funds for the Hospice

Paul shares his community fundraising story with us:

Our mum passed away from cancer at just 43 years old. St Raphael’s were amazing in her final days of life. After her death, my dad became a volunteer driver for the Hospice, a role he loved for 15 years. Dad only stopped volunteering when he was diagnosed with colon cancer and underwent a major operation. He sadly passed away last April after his cancer battle.

Together with my two brothers, we came up with the idea of hosting a football fundraiser in aid of St Raphael’s – a charity that does so much for so many families in Merton and Sutton.

My family have a close affiliation with Sutton United FC. My dad was a season ticket holder and also worked as a caretaker in a hall in Cheam Village, which was run by a family member of the football club’s chairman at the time.

Our football fundraiser was played at Sutton United FC on Wednesday, 17 May and was designed around ‘Paul vs. David’ (a bit of healthy competition between myself vs. my younger brother). Our eldest brother, Andrew, was the referee on the day and our teams were made up of a combination of all our friends. 

David’s team frustratingly won 6-2! The match was closely contested for the first hour before David’s team ran away with it with their superior fitness levels.

We are thrilled to have raised £2,620 from the match for St Raphael’s. The donations were a combination of sign-up fees to be a part of the team, spectator fees and also a raffle after the game with several prizes donated.

Our plan is for this football fundraiser to be hosted annually, having just secured the pitch again next summer. We would like to thank Sutton United FC and look forward to returning next season, in honour of our loved ones and St Raphael’s!

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