A £100,000 fundraising campaign for three charities reaching out to thousands of people across the Solent region is nearly halfway to the total.
More than £45,000 has already been netted by the 123 Decathlon in Hampshire, comprising 10 sporting events to tie in with the 2012 London Olympics.
Details of the running total emerged at the latest event, the fourth in the action-packed series and sponsored by regional commercial property consultancy Hughes Ellard.
A marathon tennis tournament was held on Tuesday, May 1st at the Virgin Active Hampshire Health & Racquets Club, West End, near Southampton, with generous donations being served up.
The beneficiaries of the final amount will be The Rainbow Centre, The Rose Road Association and Wessex Cancer Trust.
Bruce Elkins, an organiser of 123 Decathlon and a director at business and tax advisers CW Fellowes, with offices in Chandler’s Ford and Fareham, said: “The total funds raised to date are £45,000, giving the fund a flying start, and we’re not even through the midway point yet.
“We’ve been staggered by the amount of goodwill and pledges from the business community – they really want to smash through that £100,000 target.”
Russell Mogridge, a director at Hughes Ellard, which has offices in Southampton and Fareham, said: “Everyone is behind 123 Decathlon and we urge as many people as possible to support this great fundraiser and keep up the momentum.”
123 Decathlon stands for one decathlon (ten events), two ‘fellows’ – organisers Bruce Elkins and Peter Harding – and three charities.
Donations can be made by visiting www.justgiving.com/BruceAElkins
Winners of the women’s doubles were Julie Hanson and Kim Lawford, beating Mary Doyle and Anna Spencer, while Tim Clark and Keith Hanson took the honours against Jim London and Ashley Savage.
The remaining events, with sponsors, are:
Triathlon – Sunday, July 1st – Totton Health & Leisure Centre – property and investment company Questmap;
Athletics – Sunday, September 9th – Southampton Sports Centre – Peter Cooper Volkswagen Group;
Run – Sunday, September 9th – Southampton Sports Centre – independent financial advisers Radcliffe & Co;
Road cycle – Sunday 14th October 2012- New Forest – insurance claims solutions specialist Graham High Group;
Table tennis – Thursday, November 15th – Barton Peveril College, Eastleigh – motor dealership Snows Group;
Swim – Thursday, December 20th – Fareham Leisure Centre – IT service provider Taylor Made Computer Solutions.
