Bereaved Friends Turn Grief Into Goals With Hospice Football Fundraiser

A group of bereaved friends are turning their shared experience of loss into a fundraising effort for Thames Hospice, with a charity football match planned at Binfield FC on Sunday. The initiative was inspired in part by the care received by Sam Rogers’ father, Duncan, who spent his final months receiving end of life care at Thames Hospice in Maidenhead. Duncan was bedbound for two months when Reading FC captain Lewis Wing visited him at his bedside. The footballer spent around 45 minutes chatting with him, an experience Sam said highlighted the supportive atmosphere surrounding the hospice. It was quite lovely to know how much of a family club they really are, Sam said. Grateful for the care his father received, Sam and his friend Jack Jarvis, from Winkfield, decided to organise a fundraising event centred around a 90-minute charity football match. Thames Hospice FC, made up of people who have lost relatives who received care at the hospice, will take on a team consisting of friends and family. The event at Binfield FC will also feature live music, stalls, a craft station for children and massage services. Entry fees will contribute to the fundraising campaign. Sam and Jack have already raised £2,235 through their JustGiving campaign and are aiming to raise £39,000 for Thames Hospice. For the organisers, however, the event is about more than reaching a financial target. Sam said forming a football team made up of men who had experienced the loss of relatives cared for by Thames Hospice had become almost bigger than raising X amount of money. He described the group as a community and a safe space where members understand what one another have experienced. Jack has his own connection to the hospice. He lost both his mother and father just 28 days apart, with both receiving care at Thames Hospice. He recalled having to balance spending time at the hospice while his mother was in hospital, while also relying on the support available to him during a difficult period. The relationship between Thames Hospice and Reading FC also gave Duncan opportunities to continue following the club. Through a streaming service provided through the collaboration, he was able to watch matches during his illness. He also attended a Reading match from a hospitality suite in November last year. It turned out to be the final game he watched in person before his death in January. Stephanie Peters, head of marketing and communications at Thames Hospice, said the organisers efforts had brought together football, friendship and fundraising while creating an opportunity for people to support one another. The fundraiser comes as charitable income and commercial partnerships remain important to Thames Hospice. The hospice says it requires around £44,000 each day to provide its services and has recently generated additional income through activities including hosting filming for the television series Ted Lasso. For Sam and Jack, Sunday match will there for serve two purposes, raising money for the hospice that supported their families and bringing together people who share a similar experience of loss. What began with personal gratitude has grown into a wider community effort one where football provides the setting, but remembrance, friendship and support remain at the heart of the event.