Morgan Sindall Construction nets hospice funding boost with Chesterfield charity football game

A nail-biting charity football match organised by Morgan Sindall Construction in Chesterfield has resulted in over £12,000 being raised for a local hospice.

The match, which took place at Chesterfield Football Club’s Technique Stadium on June 17th, was the brainchild of Morgan Sindall Construction’s Richard Harding, head of pre-construction for Yorkshire and North East.

Richard, who lives in Chesterfield, wanted Morgan Sindall Construction to create a real impact within the local community as part of its build programme for the new Jewson branch in the historic market town.

The new branch, on Sheffield Road, will replace Jewson’s former home in the town, which is no longer suitable due to the impact of works associated with the HS2 Station Master Plan.

Football fever

The Morgan Sindall Construction team worked in conjunction with Chesterfield FC Community Trust, the Pagabo Foundation and Jewson to organise, raise funds for and host the football event. All monies raised were donated to Ashgate Hospicecare - a charity that provides compassionate, specialist palliative and end of life care to patients with a life-limiting illness and their families across North Derbyshire.

The charity was nominated by North East Derbyshire District Council chairman, and vice-chairman for Chesterfield Football Club, Councillor Martin Thacker MBE.

Over £12,000 raised for charity

Through a combination of match sponsorship, 'pay-to-play' donations, individual contributions a £1,000 donation from the Pagabo Foundation and a £2,500 donation from both Morgan Sindall Construction and Jewson respectively, the charity event raised a total of £12,339 (including Gift Aid).

And spectators were treated to a thrilling match as the specially created teams of Morgan Sindall FC and Jewson Property Professionals FC reached a 2–2 draw.

The fundraising boost delivered by the match will provide much needed financial support for Ashgate Hospicecare, which relies on donations to help it provide essential services to thousands of local people every year. Like many charities, Ashgate Hospicecare's fundraising capacity has been severely affected by the COVID-19 crisis and it is in greater need of support more than ever.

Peter Stone, director of income generation from the charity said: “We are so grateful for this incredibly generous donation, especially after the challenging 18 months we have all faced.

“Throughout the pandemic, Ashgate worked around the clock to deliver our care and services to families across North Derbyshire living with a life-limiting illness. In fact, we are one of the few hospices in the UK which cared for end-of-life COVID patients.

“The specialist care and support we offer is only possible because of the kind generosity and support of our local community. I would just like to reiterate our sincere thanks to all those involved in the charity football match and for raising such a huge amount of money.”

Morgan Sindall Construction’s Richard Harding said: "Our purpose is to ensure that within the communities we are working in, our social value agenda is at the forefront of what we do. We have a responsibility to create opportunities for employment, support our local supply chain and engage with local schools and colleges to provide much needed work experience and above all, ensure that we make a positive impact while we are delivering our projects. We really wanted to demonstrate this by working closely with Chesterfield Football Club and its Community Trust in order to do something positive in the town. A charity football match seemed to be a really exciting opportunity for lots of people to get involved.

"Thanks to the help and dedication of the Jewson team, Councillor Martin Thacker MBE, Chesterfield FC, the Pagabo Foundation and our own team members, we were able to more than double our original fundraising target.

"We want to give a huge shout of appreciation to all those organisations in our supply chain who supported our cause – Shipley Structures Limited, Yates Drywall Ltd, DJ Swallow Construction/DJ Swallow Brickwork Ltd, Ecogise Group, T Clarke, SCS, B&K Structure and AARSLEFF."

Jason Stapley, foundation chairman and managing director at Pagabo, added: “Myself and the whole Pagabo Foundation board are delighted to have supported Ashgate Hospicecare through this initiative. When we were first asked to be involved in the fundraiser it was a real no-brainer for the board, especially with everything that has happened over the last 18 months. To more than double the original fundraising target is testament to the hard work done by everyone involved in organising the event. I’d like to say a massive thank you to all who have played their part and hope that the donation will go some way to supporting the fantastic care services that Ashgate provide.”

Morgan Sindall Construction is also sponsoring Chesterfield Junior Blues Cobras Under-12s team, who attended the charity match as flag bearers and mascots.

To find out more about Ashgate Hospicecare, please visit: https://www.ashgatehospicecare.org.uk/

• For more information about this news release please contact Tom Carlin at Influential on 07827 957740 or email [email protected]