Mansfield family praised after raising more than £1k for cancer charity

Liam Sheppard, aged 36, from Forest Town, has organised the Visionary Trophy and the Sheppard Golf Open to raise money for leading men’s health charity Prostate Cancer UK, and awareness of the disease that kills one man every 45 minutes in the UK.

The Sheppard family and their friends raised more than £1,000 this year by running weekly football competitions, a presentation evening with a quiz and a Golf Open with fundraising activities at Brierley Forest Golf Club in Huthwaite – taking the total raised to more than £2,200, when added to last year’s fundraising efforts.

Liam was inspired after reading about prostate cancer and the statistics and thought he needed to raise awareness and money for this charity.

He said: “I decided to raise awareness through football and golf for Prostate Cancer UK, because these sports are played predominantly by men and being a member of Brierley Forest Golf Club where the majority of members are male, this is something we need to make people aware of.

“Generally men don't speak about their woes. I thought running these types of competitions was an excellent platform to get the message over.

“I am delighted that we organised the events to help support Prostate Cancer UK and raise much-needed awareness of the disease.”

Nicola Tallett, director of fundraising and supporter engagement at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “Prostate cancer is now the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK and the Covid-19 pandemic has made living with a diagnosis so much harder.

“Thankfully, the support of the Sheppard family and so many other wonderfully generous people has allowed us to continue funding research into better tests and treatments, to stop prostate cancer being a killer.

“Hard times show us what people stand for. When the future is uncertain and the choices are tough, we stand for men with prostate cancer. We thank Liam Sheppard and his family for going that extra mile.”