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Ronnie O'Sullivan's family pledge to raise £50,000 for hospice care
27 May 2011
Snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan spent time with patients at Saint Francis Hospice last week, as his family pledged to raise £50,000 for the charity.
Ronnie visited the hospice with his mother, Maria, who is fundraising by walking the 190 mile Coast to Coast walk from St Bees to Robin Hood Bay in July. He spent time in the day hospice, chatting to the patients who visit on a Wednesday afternoon and have access to the facilities including medical care, complementary therapy and arts and crafts.
The first donation Ronnie is making is the £4,000 he won for his tenth 147 break against Mark King in the World Open 2010. “I promised that I would donate that money to charity, so I have decided to give it to Saint Francis Hospice,” he said. “I thought the hospice was great, providing excellent conditions and support for people who need it most. It was calm, relaxing with a warm and friendly atmosphere.”
Ronnie will involve himself with fundraising events, and has offered to donate items from his game for the hospice to sell at auctions.
Ronnie decided to support the hospice following the death of Barry Hearn’s mother-in-law, and after seeing the hospice care Paul Hunter was provided before he died in 2006. The money he and his mum raise will be split between Saint Francis Hospice and a children’s hospice.
Maria O’Sullivan said: “Both Barry Hearn’s mother-in-law and Paul Hunter were cared for with the upmost respect and dignity.
“I think Saint Francis Hospice is an amazing, remarkable place. As soon as I walked through the door I felt the peace, warmth and serenity around me. I spoke with one of the patients, Anita, and she told me how she felt before she came, and how the hospice has made her feel now. It has turned her life around because she is completely uplifted now.
“By coming to the hospice and seeing the work it does, and how much better the patients feel knowing that there is place like this for them to come to makes me more determined to raise money, and Ronnie feels exactly the same. We are going to do our upmost to raise as much money as we can for the hospice.”
Day hospice patient Charlie Claydon from Dagenham said: “It was really good to see him. He was a very nice chap, and I think it’s wonderful that he is supporting the hospice - he could do a lot, which is what the hospice really needs.”
Hospice fundraiser Lynda Head said: “We were thrilled to have Ronnie in the hospice yesterday, and we are very excited about working with him and his mother to raise funds. This year we need £7.2million to provide our services, free of charge to people across the community, so support like this from Ronnie is very special to us.”
To sponsor Maria O'Sullivan, click here.
