DARREN AND ANNA GOUGH RAISE £115 000 FOR VETERANS FOR WILDLIFE TO BE USED IN THE PREVENTION OF WILDLIFE CRIME IN SOUTH AFRICA

The Darren and Anna Gough Golf Day and Gala Dinner, Veterans for Wildlife’s flagship fundraising event in 2017, was a fantastic success! We would like to extend our sincerest thanks to both Darren and Anna for their tireless work over the course of this year. Without them the event would never have taken place, let alone achieve the remarkable results that we can proudly report here.

We would also like to thank the two main sponsors of the golf day itself, Heineken and Slingsby, as well as the two main sponsors of the dinner, Hamiltons and IPP Group. Our thanks also extend to the many sponsors who donated prizes, their services or otherwise contributed to the delivery of a world-class event. You really have set a new benchmark!

A particular highlight from the day was artist Ben Mosely live painting the London skyline, which went on to sell for £15,000 in the main auction. Ben then offered to paint a second piece for another guest, which also fetched £15,000; raising an impressive £30,000 in total! We must also highlight the great humour and wit of our host for the evening, Ronnie Irani. Both he and Darren were on top form!

Some of the top prizes to be auctioned were a safari for six people in South Africa, with Darren and Anna Gough as hosts, which sold for £15,000; as well as, a week-long stay for ten at Sumaridge Wine Estate in South Africa, with a private chef and bottle of wine per head per day, which sold twice for £6,500!

In total, over £115,000 was raised for the charity through a combination of ticket sales, the auctions as well as a number of other personal donations. This equates to a staggering R2.1 million! These funds have been earmarked for a number of Veterans for Wildlife’s operations in 2018 and beyond. Including the provision of operational support to the game-changing Postcode Meerkat system, the Footprints of Hope project, as well as continual training and support to rangers on the ground.

If you did not attend this year’s event, don’t worry! You can get in touch with us today and register your interest for an even bigger and better fundraiser in 2018. Details to follow.