Family fun day and football match to be held in Sleaford for four charities

The families fun day is set to be staged at the MKM Stadium (home of Sleaford Town FC) on Boston Road, Sleaford on the afternoon of Saturday July 20.

The event has come about as a result of a successful charity football match held in August last year at Pointon involving Pointon FC in memory of their team mate Tom Best, a young Sleaford man who had sadly lost his battle with testicular cancer in May 2023.

Carole, from Sleaford, used to be secretary of the Pointon club and had organised it with a small group of people. She explained: “It was organised in a short space of time as his friends wanted to say their final goodbyes to him.

"Holding the match allowed them to reflect on the good times they had shared with him in the past.”

It resulted in raising £5,400 for charity.

Carole said: “We decided to do something similar, but more family orientated.”

This time they plan to raise money for three cancer charities that helped Tom through his illness: Marie Curie, Macmillan Nurses and Cancer Research UK. They are also raising money for Rainbow Children’s Hospice of Lincoln, which helps families of babies and small children through life limiting illness.

This last charity was selected due to the son of a family friend lost his daughter aged just two hours and 38 minutes after birth. Carole said people from Rainbow Children’s Hospice facilitated recording the baby’s footprints and other things as keepsakes for parents and grandparents. “They do a lot of good and I wanted to help that charity too,” said Carole. “Any child’s loss is devastating.”

The family day at Eslaforde Park will start at 12noon and admission will be free, to include a football match, craft and food stalls, as well as traditional garden fete games such as skeeball, bean bags, skittles, as well as face painting. Sleaford Fire Brigade will be in attendance with an appliance for the children to climb in as well as Sleaford Maltsters Archery Club giving a demonstration and bringing some extra targets for the public to ‘have a go’. You can also have a go at axe throwing!

The junior football teams are also likely to get involved and there may also be a chance to meet some goats.

Carole would like to invite more local craft stall holders to attend this event, with each stall holder being asked to make a pitch donation of £15 per stall.

"I am actively trying to source large tents to house the craft stalls in the event of inclement weather (if you are interested and could bring a gazebo to house your stall that would be great),” said Carole.

There will be a raffle, a cake stall and a tombola. All proceeds from this event will be split four ways.