Annual TH96 Run – The 3rd Annual TH96 Run took place on 11th March 2016 which involved a 10 mile run between 4 of the cricket clubs in the Central Lancashire Cricket League where Tom played. Rob Etchells & Vinny Kay, Euro FABS UK Ltd/AIRFLOW provided sponsorship of all the tee shirts again which showed their company logo, the CRY logo and TH96. The TH96 group met on a number of occasions to plan and organise the day which also involved an evening at Rochdale Cricket Club.
140 people registered for the run which included teams up to 6, individual runners and Laura and Archie the dog! Some completed all the run whilst others completed in a relay. The weather conditions were find and dry and entrants were warmed up before setting off by Charlotte Burrill who was a close friend of Tom’s. A number of volunteers manned the route and at each key stage bottled water kindly provided by a local company was available. The final stage of the run was the most challenging with a long steep hill before descending to Middleton Cricket Club where everyone was given a well deserved drink and hot dog donated by Morrison’s in Heywood.
In the evening everyone plus more came together and for a £5 entry fee were given a glass of bubbly and entertained by a group, The Bright Sparx which involved Tom’s friend Liam Dodd who he has been to school since the age of 4. During the evening prizes were awarded to the fasted male/female team, fastest individual, mixed group and most money raised. The whole night was full of fun and laughter especially about the pictures taken in in the photo booth. With the raffle and monies raised from sponsorship (including online donations) a massive £7,608.43 was raised for CRY.
At the end of the evening a number of CRY balloons were set off into the night sky. We are extremely blessed to have such amazing support from family, friends and the whole of the Heywood community and beyond – all continue to be amazing and we cannot thank them enough.
RE Annual Charity Cricket Match – 2016 The 4th annual cricket match between Tommy’s Lemons and Eggers II took place on 14 August 2016 and once again was a brilliant day with approximately 400 people turning out to offer their support and raise money for CRY in memory of Tom Hardman and Trevor Jones. Going into the match the Lemon’s lead the series 2-1 so captain Daz was keen to ensure that it was all level at the end of the day. As usual there was lots of banter between the teams and the crowd were in high spirits offering lots of words of encouragement. Tom’s friend Joe O’Neil was able to play for the first time and took control of Tommy’s Lemons in the field which was not as easy as he expected – “It was hard trying to get them to stay in position, it was like working with under 11’s”. Each year the game has been extremely close and 2016 was no different but it was the Lemon’s who emerged victorious and lead the series 3-1. There was some excellent performances but man of the match went to Chris Rawlinson for his batting performance although Daz captain of Eggers II said overall the batting let them down this year. Fundraising involved a barbecue, tombola, raffle, sale of programme, donations and refreshments raising £1,230.
Elvis Presley Tribute Night – Tom sally passed away on 28th November 2012, 5 days before his 22nd birthday and every year we celebrate the 3 December with family and friends. This year we received the kind offer from Faro owner of The Willows in Heywood to attend an Elvis Tribute night which involved hot/cold buffet. The night was absolutely brilliant and it came as no surprise when Faro said that he was donating all the money to CRY plus gave a personal donation – £475 in total as he is a massive supporter and has donated generously to every event since we commenced fundraising as well as providing lunch at his restaurant for the CRY staff at the screening event held in Heywood in February 2015.
Margaret Hardman
