Mid Sussex Golf Club was the perfect venue for Kangaroos second annual charity golf tournament and dinner, proudly supported by headline sponsor Stuart & Partners.
Over £4,500 was raised on a lucky Friday 13th – the money will go towards the continued provision of activities and events for children and young adults with learning disabilities in and around Mid Sussex.
Samantha Norgate, fundraising officer for Kangaroos, said:“A big thank you to all the golfers that supported the event, as well as all the sponsors and donors. And I’m glad we were blessed with glorious sunny weather!”
Fourteen teams took part in the golf tournament. The winning team was Jamie Wallden, Martin Storey, Oliver Patterson, and Shaun Malins, who achieved the best two combined scores of 84 stableford points. Oli Patterson also won the individual highest score of the day with 44 stableford points playing off a handicap of 18.
The golf was followed in the evening by dinner, during which Samantha thanked everyone for coming and played a short film outlining the work Kangaroos undertake. A raffle and charity auction followed.
The event raised a grand total of £4,564.04 for the Haywards Heath-based charity.
Sam Wells, managing director of Stuart & Partners, said: “It really was a honour to be able to once again contribute towards such a deserving charity. I look forward to more of the same next year.”
Kangaroos has been helping run activities for disabled children and their families in Mid Sussex since 1993.
To learn more about the work Kangaroos does visit www.kangaroos.org.uk.
About Kangaroos
Kangaroos was established by a group of parents in 1993 to run out of school activities in Mid Sussex for children with severe learning disabilities. There were no activities in the area suitable for special needs children to attend and they believed that their children needed and deserved activities that would be designed to cater for their very special requirements.
Kangaroos ran their first Saturday Club in January 1994 and have organised them virtually every Saturday since. The Holiday Playschemes followed in February and have continued to run each half term and school holiday.
Since then Kangaroos have initiated a range of additional projects and have adapted the original activities to meet the needs of the changing and increasingly complex profile of the children and young people provided for. However, the ethos of Kangaroos remains unchanged, they have always had the young people at the centre of everything they do, meeting their needs, providing them with the care and support needed so that they can have a fun, worthwhile experience with their peers.
Their Management Committee still comprises mainly parents, with the addition of two trustees from the local community. All of their staff are suitably qualified and experienced and hold enhanced CRB checks. They also benefit from local volunteers mostly from local secondary schools and college to help provide the 1:1 support needed on some of our projects. They provide them with experience and training and believe that this opportunity benefits them too, as they become more self-assured and confident by helping others in a fun atmosphere.
Where possible, the youngsters have a lot of input towards the range of activities provided and Kangaroos feel that it is extremely important to receive feedback from them and their families concerning the services provided. This belief has led to the initiation of a Youth Forum for older members enjoying some of the projects.
Kangaroos also provides families with a short break to do a bit of shopping, spend time with other family members and generally to do those things that they are not able to do with their special needs child around.