Tenby Golf Club shines throughout the pandemic raising over £8,500 in aid of Kidney Wales!

On Monday 6 December 2021, Austin Davies returned to the University Hospital of Wales to present Kidney Wales with a cheque for the funds raised during his captaincy at Tenby Golf Club.

Consultant Transplant surgeon and trustee of the charity Mr Mike Stephens represented Kidney Wales at the presentation, the same surgeon that 12 years prior had removed Austin’s kidney to donate to his wife, Janis.

Despite the difficulties of the pandemic, and restrictions making fundraising extremely challenging, Austin and the members of Tenby Golf Club pulled together to raise an incredible £8,513.03. We extend our thanks and gratitude to all members, guests and the local community who supported Austin during his captaincy year and contributing to the magnificent amount raised for the Kidney Community here in Wales.

Austin’s story is inspiring. Kidney Wales is a cause so close to his heart. Here he shares why raising funds on behalf of the charity is important.

‘My wife Janis contracted a virus in 1980 whilst visiting her brother who was working in the Bahamas.

At the time our two children were aged 3 and 8 and the following years were difficult for Jan as her kidneys slowly and painfully shut down.

Without the huge help and expertise of the NHS Renal units at Morriston and Cardiff UHW over the years I doubt Jan would still be with us and we feel a huge debt of gratitude to everyone involved.

Whilst it is impossible to name all of the many NHS staff who have supported us there is one constant throughout this long period and we would like to thank Jan’s regular Consultant, Dr Andrew Williams (now retired) in particular.

In 2008 Jan started dialysis and a year later I was able to donate a kidney which allowed Jan to enjoy a more normal life free of the dialysis unit. The transplant team at UHW were(are) fantastic.

However, after eleven years, in 2020, the transplant failed, and Jan is now back on dialysis.

The help and support we receive is excellent and when I became Captain at Tenby Golf Club I had no hesitation in wanting to pick a Kidney charity as my fund raising ‘Captains Charity’.

I especially wanted to support a Wales based charity and Kidney Wales fitted this bill perfectly, as the charity provides help and support in many forms to Kidney patients across Wales.

We are also particularly pleased to support Kidney Wales as the surgeons involved in our transplant, Dr Asderakis and Dr Mike Stephens are Trustees of the charity.

Due to Covid restrictions fundraising proved a challenge but the members at Tenby Golf Club supported me in every way possible 

I held a Captain’s Day competition for members and also a   Captain’s charity golf day and auction which was supported by local businesses as well as the members and which along with donations from individuals raised the sum to a little over £8500.

Jan and I are extremely grateful to everyone who has supported our fund raising and thank them all from the bottom of our heart’

Kidney Wales do not receive any government funding, we rely on donations through our communities to continue our work supporting families affected by kidney disease.

Your generosity and donations mean we can continue to deliver life changing projects for our community. To order your fundraising pack, or to discuss any ways in which you could fundraise please contact us on [email protected] or click here