Portsmouth man with incurable cancer and friends blown away as they raise nearly £5,000 for The Rowans Hospice in football tournament
.jpg?width=96&crop=1:1,smart)
CHEERS echoed around a hockey club as thousands of pounds was raised for a charity supporting a man from Portsmouth with incurable cancer.
Dozens of people attended a football tournament at Fareham Hockey Club on Sunday in aid of The Rowans Hospice.
The charity works alongside the NHS Palliative Care Team in caring for Callum Lynch, 28 – diagnosed with Insulinoma shortly before his 25th birthday.
Thanks to the generosity and love of friends, family, work colleagues and strangers, the caused has raised £4,711 at the time of writing.
Mr Lynch’s partner Becky Darby, 28, of Southsea told The News: ‘It was the best turnout we could have imagined, it was overwhelming really to see everyone there.
‘Callum managed to stay the whole day, and he was getting involved in between the games.
‘He was going round saying thank you to everyone, and was overwhelmed by the support.’
Ms Darby organised the event with fellow Cubitt and West estate agent Abbie Tallack, who she describes as the ‘backbone’ of the operation.
After the matches, Mr Lynch awarded a bottle of champagne to the winners.
A total of 48 raffle tickets were sold, with ‘huge’ prizes including £150 meal vouchers, beauty treatments and other goodies.
Ms Tallack said after she gave a little speech on the balcony, there was a huge cheer from all the well-wishers, and it blew her away.
She added: ‘The day could not have gone any better, it was outstanding.
‘The tournament went beautifully, all the catering guys did amazing, and everything went great.
‘Me and Becky are humbled by the response.
‘We’ve been in complete and utter shock with the amount of support we had on the day.’
Mr Lynch, a staunch Manchester United fan, has been going through chemotherapy treatment – with radiotherapy – while receiving 24/7 care.
Ms Tallack said everyone who attended was there to support the organisation that helped the couple physically and emotionally.
The event was deemed so much of a success, Ms Darby said it could be organised annually.
She thinks awareness has been raised for young people with long-term illnesses.
‘People think it doesn’t happen to young people, but when they see Callum’s story, they understand it does,’ she added.
‘So many people said it was a cause close to their hearts.’