THE Derbyshire Children's Holiday Centre at Skegness is set to benefit from a weekend of fund-raising being held in memory of a "lovely man" who died of cancer.
Lorraine Froggatt, who runs the Windmill Inn in Heage, is organising a series of events – Redders Charity Weekend – named after John Redfern, who died last year from oesophagal cancer.
She said: "We wanted to do something in memory of John because he was such a big part of life here. I had known him for 14 years and latterly he worked here in the pub.
"It emerged at his funeral that, at his wish, no flowers should be brought but instead money should be given to the holiday centre. That was typical of him, he was a lovely man."
Derbyshire Children's Holiday Centre provides short breaks for disadvantaged children from the county.
Each year, 450 children are given a five-day trip to the seaside and stay at the Skegness centre which has been providing holidays for 123 years.
Events at the pub's charity weekend kick off next Saturday at 8am when the riders will be gathering for a sponsored charity bike ride to the centre in Skegness.
Sheila Kirkland, the wife of John Kirkland, the boss of Heage-based construction firm Bowmer and Kirkland, is cutting the tape to start the ride, which has been organised by James Fox and Matt Simms.
During the rest of the day at the pub, there will be a sponsored silence by Gaynor Travis, a balloon race, car boot sale, bouncy castle and face painting and music performances by several local young people, including Cait Wood, Jordan Bednall, Toby Ingram and Jake Farrell.
The fund-raising will continue on the following day.
People will be able to compete in a new annual darts and domino competition on Sunday afternoon with the John Redfern Charity Shield as the prize. Runners-up will receive a half gallon of beer.
This will be followed in the evening by an auction and raffle with items including tickets to a Derby County match, family day pass to Butlin's, Clarins beauty products and meal for two at Horsley Lodge.
Mrs Froggatt said: "We have run many charity events over the years but this is probably the biggest we have tackled as it covers the whole weekend. It promises to be really enjoyable and hopefully we will be able to raise loads of money for the holiday centre."
The Skegness venue relies totally on donations and costs in the region of £205,000 to run each year.
"Repair work and decoration costs an additional amount each year."
Last year, generous Derby Telegraph readers helped to raise £30,000 to pay for a new minibus, which is used to transport children to and from the Skegness venue each week.
Bill Tomlinson, chairman of the Derbyshire Children's Holiday Centre trustees, said that he was delighted the charity had been chosen by Mrs Froggatt and her team to receive the proceeds of the weekend.
He said: "It is amazing what lengths people will go to raise money for the centre, which many Derbyshire people hold dear, either because they see it as a very worthwhile charity or because they themselves have used it when they were younger.
"We have some additional expense coming up this winter, through necessary building repairs, so any money we are given is a bonus."
For more information about the events over the Redders Charity Weekend, call Lorraine on 07812 837539.
