I write to you all to not only inform you of an incredible event that has recently taken place, but to also thank every single person who took part in our most recent fundraiser for Severn Hospice, a fantastic local charity close to so many of our hearts.

The term 'family' may seem an unusual way to start a letter, however I believe it perfectly describes exactly what the club is, not just players, but all of our juniors, coaches and managers, committee members, volunteers, fans, sponsors, visitors and most importantly of all, such great friends from all over the UK and the world. It was this friendship and community spirit that was so evident during our charity event where we attempted to travel as far as we could in relay format over the May Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend.

Normally, as a club we enter a team into the Bridgnorth Walk to raise money for Severn Hospice and have done this for the last four years, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak this event was cancelled. Therefore, over a video call and a couple of beers myself and first team skipper Sam Whitney came up with another idea taking inspiration from some of the fantastic fundraising events organised by other clubs, most notably Worcestershire CCC and Shrewsbury CC.

We attempted to organise a virtual relay which involved each person taking part for one hour, either running, walking or cycling as far as they could and then doing a virtual baton change via video call to the next person. Initially our target was to have 24 participants as we were hoping to do this for 24 hours. However, this soon grew to 50 participants as word spread, with somebody taking part in every hour from 11am on Saturday 23rd May right the way through until 3pm on Monday 25th May. Momentum grew and more and more people wanted to take part, so each person in their hour slot then organised their own separate relay team within that hour.

We eventually had 252 club players, former players, members and friends from all across the globe joining the event, allowing us to cover a grand total of 3315.45km as a team, and so far raising £9515 inclusive of a hugely generous donation of £350 from the club. The GoFundMe page is still live should you wish to donate.

We could never have imagined the event growing like this from our initial target of 24 people aiming to raise £500. The support we received from everybody was incredible and the buzz and team spirit it created was a joy to behold and demonstrated something so positive during the current crazy times of uncertainty we are experiencing.

Once again, we were truly overwhelmed with the support received and everybody who joined us and supported us and cannot thank you enough. Hopefully in the near future we will be able to meet for a drink and a chat to reminisce and celebrate this success.

Finally, a huge thank you to Sam for his support in driving the event, and to Alex Thomas for his incredible social media coverage.

Stay safe, look after each other and we'll see you all soon.

Thank you

Matt Martin