Southport Golf Academy has today confirmed that a ‘One Million Yard Drive’ initiative to raise funds for Alder Hey Children’s Hospital has smashed its’ original £5,000 target and has already raised over £19,500 with funds still coming in.
Golf professional James Carpenter, a resident Pro at the academy, developed the idea for the event with friends and family following a request from one of the parents of a child injured in the Southport stabbings exactly one month ago.
James explained that, to drive a million yards in a day, golfers would have to hit an average of eight 200 yard drives a minute for 10 hours if they were to reach their target.
On the day, the pros and local golfers reached the magic million by early evening with the initiative’s JustGiving page – see here – OneMillionYardDrive – easily breaking the original £5,000 target by lunchtime that day.
While the page has now raised well over £13,000 since the weekend, the total continues to rise with funds from a raffle supported by the local community and businesses raising over £6,000 thanks to some generous benefactors.
Typical of the generosity surrounding the event was the action of nine-year old young golfer James Meakin from Skelmersdale who donated all his £17 pocket money to the cause buying himself 34 drives towards the million yard target at 50p a time.
Asked why he wanted to do it, he said: “To help other children that will need help in the future. I have been playing golf for three years. It’s a good competitive game,” he said, “and it gives you exercise.”
The event was privately launched by the family who had requested the Club do something to support Alder Hey with a very young brother of one of the injured girls among the first to drive.
The father of the little girl, said: “The response has been absolutely phenomenal with everyone pulling together in such a short space of time to arrange this, to gather prizes, to share it far and wide to raise money for the incredible hospital that has ultimately saved our daughter’s life.
“If we can be part of something that generates more funds for Alder Hey so more children can have life-saving treatment, then it is just an honour to be part of this.”
He added: “It has been wonderful. Everyone is here in good spirits raising money for a wonderful cause.
“If people want to donate on the JustGiving page, if they google Million Yard Drive, it will come up as the top search and they can give that way.
“In the immediate aftermath the whole of Southport came together to show their love and support in any which way they could, whether it was with flowers, with teddies, whether it was holding vigils – whatever it may have been, everyone wanted to show their support in the best way they could.”
You can see more on this story here: SGA Million Yard Drive (youtube.com)
The JustGiving page is still able to accept donations
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