THIS YEAR saw the commencement of the Parque da Floresta Charity Fund, set up to run throughout the year, raising money at every available opportunity for local charities in the Algarve. The main beneficiaries will be the Lagos Orphanage, Cancer Research and Vila do Bispo Bombeiros. A life saving defibrillating machine will also be purchased for the Parque da Floresta resort itself.
An inaugural fundraising weekend was organised last month at Parque da Floresta with a two-day AM AM golfing competition and a Texas Scramble. The Charity Fund, operated by golf director Alan Hodson, golf club captain Richard Stead and golf club secretary Pauline Binnie, had a target of 50,000 euros for the year, however, this was surpassed in the very first event with 60,000 euros raised.
Alan Hodson commented: “I’m so delighted we managed to collect such a fantastic amount. I’d like to thank everyone involved. We were supported by property owners, golf club members and holidaymakers alike. It is important for the Vigia Group, and all of us at Parque da Floresta, that we continue to support the local community, local charities and those less fortunate than ourselves. You can rest assured every last cent raised will go to these great causes.”
Winners of the AM AM competition, with a score of 88 points, were Alan Ziepe, Nick Edkins, Lee Pridie and Gary Casey, who collected their prize at the gala dinner on the following Saturday night. Prize giving was followed by a charity auction where the star lot was a 10-day holiday in a luxurious ocean front villa on Mexico’s magnificent Pacific Coast, plus use of a skippered sports-fisherman boat. This alone was sold for a massive 19,000 euros!
Other auction items raising vital funds were signed football shirts from England and Spurs goalkeeper, Paul Robinson, and the Manchester United squad, plus a Manchester United shirt signed by Portugal’s very own Ronaldo. Additionally, there was a House of Lords bottle of whisky signed by the Iron Lady herself, Margaret Thatcher, and a Callaway putter and a cap signed by Phil Mickelson and Thomas Bjorn.
The golfing fun continued on Sunday with a Texas Scramble competition, in which Jamie O’Doherty, Martin Tyrrell, Michael Hassid and Malcolm Rennie were victorious with a score of 56.5.
