More than £9000 donated to Prospect Hospice by My Dad’s Bigger Than Your Dad Festival 2023

This week the organiser proudly presented a cheque for a whopping £9537.75 to Prospect Hospice staff. The third year of My Dad’s Bigger Than Your Dad Festival, organised in association with South Swindon Parish Council, was held at The Old Town Bowl on Saturday 22 July with around 800 people braving the rain throughout the day…..

Some of the best acts of the local music scene came together to support the event, including Kova Me Badd, Imperial Leisure and The Real Cheesemakers, to raise much needed funds for Prospect Hospice in tribute to Dave Young, the former landlord of The Victoria and 12 Bar who died in early June 2021 at the Hospice. The festival also collaborated with Swindon Paint Fest who hosted an area of creativity which included live painting from six fantastic local artists, with the resulting artworks to be auctioned off in the near future.

Festival co-organiser Gemma Denley-Doswell said “We are absolutely delighted with the amount raised which, despite the awful weather on the day, has surpassed last year’s total. We couldn’t have done this without the enthusiasm and support of South Swindon Parish Council, our fantastic sponsors, supporters and volunteers, the performers and traders, and, of course, everyone who braved the rain to enjoy the day. We love working with the team at Prospect Hospice and we’re aiming to raise an even bigger total for them next year!”

L-R, Jane Green (Prospect Matron), Anna Sprawson (Organiser), Ana Marques and Sanjay Badhan (Future Planning), Debbie Robson (Prospect@Home Lead), Gemma and Aaron Denley-Doswell (Organisers)

Prospect Hospice, based in Wroughton, provides palliative and end of life care for people across the region and has to raise the majority of its costs through fundraising. My Dad’s Bigger Than Your Dad Festival has raised over £32000 for Prospect Hospice in its first three years.

Sheryl Crouch Head of Income at the hospice said “On behalf of everyone at Prospect Hospice and all the patients and families that we care for, I would like to thank the brilliant My Dads Bigger Than Your Dad team for their wonderful ongoing support. Year three for this event has seen it grow and gain more and more local support. We were privileged to have cared for Dave Young, who the event is in memory of, and remain privileged to be the beneficiaries of this fantastic event, our thanks go to everyone involved in organising it. As a charity that needs to source over 76% of our running costs, donations such as this one make a significant difference in enabling us to continue supporting our patients and their families and provide care tailored to their needs free of charge.”

The organisers were joined at the cheque presentation by Sanjay Badhan and Ana Marques from Old Town’s Future Planning, who were headline sponsors of the festival for the second year running. Sanjay said “Prospect Hospice provides truly outstanding services and it’s a privilege to help raise money for such a worthy cause.”

Sponsors of MDBTYD Festival 2023 also included Anytime Fitness, Imagine Cruising, Leightons Opticians, and Lewis Farrant Floor Layer. Part of the fee paid to South Swindon Parish Council to use the venue has been put aside to help raise money for the upkeep of the Old Town Bowl. The organisers of the festival are now planning for MDBTYD 2024, with the date set for Saturday 20th July 2024 and several music acts already confirmed to perform. For further updates follow My Dad’s Bigger Than Your Dad Festival on social media.

Early Bird tickets for next year’s event are on sale via the website mydadsbiggerthanyourdad.co.uk