Local league ‘nets’ £1800 for charities

Netball players from the Fylde Netball League wearing t-shirts in aid of raising money for The Stroke Association

The Fylde Netball League announced at the start of the year that they raised £1800 as part of its charity efforts throughout 2018.

The Fylde netball league currently has over 50 teams and 350 women from the Blackpool and surrounding region playing in it, and in 2018, through various tournaments organised throughout the year, players raised a total of £1800 which has been divided equally between their three chosen charities; The Stroke Association, Parkinson’s UK and LHON Society.

Hundreds of women from across the North West entered the netball tournaments and contributed prizes to the raffle and cake sales.

Irene Rawcliffe, Chair of the Fylde Netball League, said ‘The league has been running for 60 years now and we’re proud to say that over the last six decades we’ve done our best to try and give back to much deserving charities. 2018 was a momentous year for us in the number of women that have joined the league and who are now participating in sport, so we’re extremely happy to end the year on a high by supporting the charities and all the amazing work that they do.’

Rebecca Owen, Regional Fundraiser at the Stroke Association, said ‘Every year we help tens of thousands of stroke survivors and their families through our range of services and free helpline, but we can only do this through the generosity of people like Fylde Netball League and all the teams who took part in the tournament. We’re incredibly grateful to them for choosing to support the Stroke Association.’

Sarah Green, the North West Regional Fundraiser for Parkinson’s UK, said ‘I would like to say thank you to Irene and everyone at Fylde Netball League for choosing to support Parkinson’s UK with your tournaments. Our work supporting people with Parkinson’s and research to find better treatments and a cure for the condition, is completely dependent on donations. To put it simply, without the support of our amazing fundraisers, the work we do just wouldn’t be possible, and we’re very grateful for this support.’

Irene Rawcliffe, Chair of Fylde Netball League and Terri Williams, Tournament Secretary, presenting the cheques to Claire Upton, Stroke Support Coordinator at Stroke Association & Sarah Green, North West Regional Fundraiser for Parkinson’s UK.

The Stroke Association is a charity in the UK that works to prevent stroke, and to support everyone touched by stroke, fund research, and campaign for the rights of stroke survivors of all ages.

They have recovering centres in Blackpool, Fylde & Wyre that provide high quality information, practical advice and emotional support following a stroke for survivors, carers and family members.

Parkinson’s UK is a Parkinson’s research and support charity that aims are to improve the quality of life for people affected by Parkinson’s and find a cure for the condition.

The LHON Society is a patient-led support group for a rare condition called Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON). The group is comprised of LHON patients, family members and medical professionals.

For information on upcoming netball tournaments, please visit http://www.fyldenetball.co.uk/ or you can find them on Twitter at @Blackpoolfylde1.