Golf legend Seve Ballesteros is asking golfers across the UK to support the first ever ‘Seve Summer’ to help him raise over £300,000 towards life-saving research into cancers of the brain. The new initiative is part of a fundraising drive for the Seve Ballesteros Foundation’s partnership with Cancer Research UK, which launched last December and hopes to raise £1 million in its first year.
‘Seve Summer’ tees off on the 1st May and runs throughout the summer. It is a chance for golf clubs and golfers across the country to show their support for Seve in his battle against brain cancer by raising vital funds to help beat the disease.
Anyone inspired to take part can get involved through their club or by coordinating fundraising activities themselves, for example:
- Adding a fundraising element to usual monthly medal competitions;
- Introducing a ‘Ballesteros Bunker’, where golfers donate to the cause if their ball goes into the dedicated bunker;
- Adding a ‘Pound per Round’ as a fundraiser at the 19th hole;
- ‘Green in One’ sweepstakes, where golfers bet on their chances of getting the ball on the green in the first shot;
- An Open BBQ for the final day’s play of the Open Championship.
All clubs that return funds will be entered into a prize draw to win one of three pairs of tickets to Viva la Vida, a spectacular evening of entertainment and a celebration of golf in aid of the Seve Ballesteros Foundation’s partnership with Cancer Research UK, which will be hosted by the man himself. In addition the top two fundraising clubs will automatically receive a pair of tickets each.
The five times Major winner was diagnosed with a brain tumour in October 2008 after collapsing at Madrid airport. He says: “I’m lucky to be alive and owe it all to the vital research carried out by organisations like Cancer Research UK. But there’s still a lot more research that can be done into this disease – which affects around 8,000 people in the UK each year – and that’s why I’m asking golfers to support ‘Seve Summer’ and help my Foundation raise as much money as possible for Cancer Research UK.
“There are more than five million golfers in the UK and if just a small proportion of those got involved, we’d be well on our way to reaching our target and making a real impact on the lives of people like me who are diagnosed with brain cancer.”
The Seve Ballesteros Foundation www.seveballesterosfoundation.org