Charity race night for 60th birthday raises £6,000

MELKSHAM resident, Keith Taylor, celebrated his 60th birthday with a charity race night on Saturday 24th February at the Melksham Conservative Club.

Keith, a pensions manager who has a passion for horse racing, football and skittles amongst many other interests, hosted a charity race night where he asked for a £10 entry instead of a birthday present.

The aim of the night was to raise £3,000, but a staggering £6,000 was eventually raised  and split equally between three charities, Dementia UK, Sarcoma UK and Bramble Farm in Melksham.

Family and friends enjoyed a night of horse racing with videos provided by Alfresco, food catered by Elvira Schofield and Ali Wilton and music by the band My Beloved Monster.  The band gave their time for free, which all helped towards raising money on the night.

Many generous local businesses donated prizes for the raffle, with raffle ticket sales alone raising £1,000. Keith also received donations from several  business contacts and many people supported the race programme by sponsoring individual races and buying horses and jockeys.

David Little and his team provided the tote service and everyone gave generously when buying tickets for the races.

Dementia UK has a special connection to Keith and his family.  Sarcoma UK, run locally by Lynn and Kevin Gaskin, has now raised over £35,000 in memory of their son Leigh who died of the disease. Bramble Farm is run by a close friend of Keith’s, along with a partner, who work tirelessly to rehome rescue animals.  They sacrifice much of their personal time and money to provide food, shelter and well-being for stricken animals.

After the event Keith said, “I am over-whelmed by the generosity of everyone who came and made my birthday celebrations so special.

“This is a birthday I will never forget! To raise so much for the charities is unbelievable. I have so many people to thank that have worked tirelessly behind the scenes.  Many people who couldn’t come, still gave donations and I’d like to thank them also.

“Craig Simms, Lindsey Jones, Viv Humphries, my wife, family, friends, work colleagues  to name but a few, spent many hours contributing their time and effort to make the night a success. The bar staff at the Cons club did a smashing job, coping with such a busy night.   

“It was lovely to see my mum at 87 years old enjoying herself and even having a dance.  The only people missing were my boys and their partners, who live in Canada, but I was able to link up with them on Face Time.”

If anyone would like to make any further donations or would like any further details please email: keith. taylor@arjowiggins.com