Every couple of years The Garden Fields Dad's Cricket Team get carried away and try to raise some money for good causes.

We have walked around the Isle of Wight, rambled The Ridgeway, gone for a jaunt along the Jurassic coast and cycled to Devon. Covid may have put our collective fun and games on hold, but we are determined to continue our fundraising deeds and this year we have decided to do a 'virtual challenge' and raise funds for Rennie Grove Hospice Care and Open Door St Albans.

We hope the Olympic games will take place later this year, so with a positive mindset we are going to try and run the 9576 kilometres that separate St Albans and Tokyo. Our starting gun went off on 1st January and we aim to be 'at the games' by the start of the marathon on Sunday 8th August.

This is quite an ask for our group - we usually struggle to run the 22 yards of a wicket! Our miles are logged on Strava and we will give a regular update on progress.

The last twelve months have been tough for many local charities, so we are looking to support Rennie Grove Hospice and Open Door St Albans.

Open Door--- Since 1993 Open Door, with the help of the St Albans community, has supported over 7,000 people who have experienced homelessness and been at risk of sleeping rough. The Open Door Charity focusses its efforts on fundraising to support and develop homelessness services, and recruiting new volunteers. The Charity funds improvements to the Open Door shelter, as well as covering the costs of outreach services, counselling services and the volunteer coordinator. The charity run the volunteer led Winter Beds Project - providing extra emergency beds for rough sleepers in the coldest weather.

Rennie Grove Hospice Care---Rennie Grove Hospice Care is a charity providing specialist care and support for adults and children with a life-limiting illness in Bucks and west Herts. Through our unique Hospice at Home service, available day and night, and a range of day services we support our patients to live the best quality life they can with a choice about how and where they are cared for towards the end of life. We are also here for the families of our patients, ensuring that everyone can receive the right support, when they need it, to help them make every moment together matter.

Our goal is to raise £4042 - which means each organisation would receive £2021.

A penny per kilometre equates to a £95.76 donation, or a donation could pay for:

£20 provides breakfast for a resident at the Open Door night shelter for a month

£28.50 pays for an hour of specialist nursing care from a Rennie Grove nurse in a patient's home

£50 pays for a blood pressure monitor for adults, helping Rennie Grove nurses to ensure patients get the care they need.

£51 provides a 1hr counselling session at Open Door St Albans

£124 provides a day of care from a Rennie Grove healthcare assistant, visiting patients to support them with practical care and help them live as independently as possible at home.

£165 funds an Open Door street outreach worker for one day

If you are able to support these good causes and provide us with some encouragement we would be so grateful.

Thank you for reading and look after yourselves.

Best

The MoF Shufflers

To find out more about how your donation will help, visit renniegrove.org & opendoorstalbans.org.