On Saturday, April 29th, Sarah will be joining members of her Tuesday morning networking group ABG, for a sponsored walk to raise money for our former chairman to buy a specialise piece of kit to get him back playing golf.
In 2020, after raking leaves in his garden, Darren Bovis, felt a pain in his back. What started as a twinge led to him losing all feeling in his legs two days later and becoming paralysed. Caused by a disc compressing his spine, Darren has been unable to enjoy golf since his injury – but the ParaGolf kit will give him the ability to play again; because the specialised wheelchair is designed for golf course terrain, plus it can stand Darren up safely and with stability to play a shot.
Members will set off from Chestfield Golf Club, Whitstable, in the morning for a 5-mile circular walk, returning to the club to meet Darren and have lunch. We’ll be taking wheelchairs with us, to experience the route and understand the difficulties Darren has previously explained to us – poor road surfaces making moving the wheelchair difficult or at other times, impossible; safety, crossing the road, access or size of footpaths and pavements.
Darren told Sarah: “It’s not just the golf I miss – it’s everything else that goes with it. The social, the chats, business talk, fresh air – I can’t join in but the ParaGolf will get me out there again. It might not improve my golf but it will get me out there playing again!
“I’m so humbled that people are helping and doing things like this for me – it really does mean a lot.”
Sarah said: “When the group found out about the ParaGolf, we immediately wanted to do something to help raise the money to buy it for him. Once he has it, he can play golf whenever he likes and get not only the sport back but all that goes with it which he really misses.
“We’ll be setting off after a good breakfast and Darren is going to drive to find us at various pit stops along the way too.”
We’re hoping to raise £10,000 this year towards Darren’s ParaGolf kit which costs £25,000.
