Retford swimming club donates £1,000 to buy Christmas presents for families at Bluebell Wood hospice

The club’s 135 members, aged seven to 23, managed to complete their annual charity swimathon before lockdowns began.

The latest £1,000 raised by the club was put towards Christmas gift vouchers for the children and young people who visit Bluebell Wood.

Club secretary Amanda Palfreyman said: “We’re very much a children and family club at the heart of the community, so we like to think of it as a gesture from our extended family to theirs.

“We’ve had the privilege of visiting the hospice in the past to see what our efforts have helped achieved and it really is a wonderful place.”

She added: “We know that Bluebell Wood is reliant on the support of the communities it serves so we just want to give something back.

“We’re all very pleased with what we’ve managed to raise under the circumstances and we hope it will help put smiles on the children’s faces after what’s been such a tough year.”

The 2020 swimathon took the club’s total fundraising for Bluebell Wood to an incredible £25,000 over the past ten years.

It began with the £15,000 which built a cinema room for families to enjoy at the North Anston facility in 2010 through a 24–hour relay event, and the club has continued to support the charity with annual events in every year since.

Mel Rose, regional Fundraiser at Bluebell Wood, said: “We can’t thank everyone at Retford swimming club enough for their continued support which really does make a huge difference to the children and families in our care.

“Thanks to their efforts over the years we’re able to help families who sadly don’t know how long they’ll have together make memories they’ll always treasure.”

She added: “This year’s amazing fundraising total will help us deliver a much-needed bit of festive cheer to the families in our care and we’re sure there will be plenty of smiles along the way.”

Retford swimming club is celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2021. Find out more at https://bit.ly/37AXWZb.

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