Raising way over the target of 1k
The charity meat raffle that takes place at the Merry Harriers pub in the village of Hambledon, Surrey, has concluded its eight-week run raising funds for
PROGRESS – reaching a remarkable total of £1,529.
In an earlier news story on this website, we reported that the pub is the “local” for Stewart Payne, one of our charity trustees. The pub’s owners Alex Winch and Sam Fiddian-Green agreed that he raffle, a popular and lively event, would raise money for PROGRESS, starting at the beginning of October.
Since then the Saturday afternoon raffle has been well attended by villagers and visitors alike. PROGRESS trustees would like to express their gratitude for such generosity. Stewart said: “I hoped we might reach £1,000 over the eight weeks allotted to our charity, so to raise more than £1,500 is a great result. I would like to thank pub manager Kelly, who runs the raffle, for her support and to Alex and Sam. All of the trustees are extremely grateful”.
On the final PROGRESS raffle Stewart introduced Fiona Huddy and Anna McGuire, two of our charity’s medical trustees, explaining that they had been a part of the team at the Royal Surrey County Hospital caring for him at the time of his surgery for oesophageal cancer. Now, seven years later, he work alongside them with PROGRESS.
They stepped forward to warm applause. Both said they were impressed by the community spirit of the pub and the good-natured way the raffle is held, adding that they wished the pub was their own local.
A big thank-you to the Merry Harriers and its customers and thanks to villagers David Edmiston for the photo and to Jon Petersen for the video.
