THE former lady captain of Whitley Bay Golf Club has helped raise more than £4,000 for the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) after choosing them as the club’s charity of the year.
Chris Meikle, 70, from Whitley Bay, thought it was fate that she was meant to fundraise for GNAAS, after she witnessed the air ambulance just days before selecting her chosen charity for the golf club.
She said: “I’m a great believer in little things happening that influence your life. I was the new lady captain and every year we have to choose a charity for ladies to support, which starts in November. A few days before I was meant to decide what to choose, I drove past the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle with my two granddaughters, and saw the GNAAS helicopter there, and I thought this is fate, so I decided to raise money for GNAAS.”
Throughout the year Mrs Meikle has organised a wide variety of fundraising activities including raffling off her parking space at the golf club, selling items on a stall, encouraging members to take part in a sponsored 10k run, and arranging a community presentation delivered by GNAAS volunteer coordinator Pete Moody.
Sadly, Mrs Meikle’s husband Ian died the previous year from a terminal illness, and he requested a collection for GNAAS at his funeral to help support his wife’s fundraising.
In total the club raised £4000 over the year, plus hundreds of pounds from two clothing collections, and £14 in old pound coins.
Mrs Meikle said: “All the things I organised are just odds and ends but they added up. I knew I’d picked the right charity because GNAAS are well known amongst the ladies. All of the members have been incredibly supportive and got involved where they can to help raise money for this vital service.”
GNAAS is reliant on public donations to survive and last year we needed to raise £5.1m to keep flying. To find out how you can help, please visit www.gnaas.com or call 01325-487263
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