your village, your fundraiser
When I was setting this website up, Mr. P. suggested that I create pages about local ‘celebrities’. People who have, or have had, significant influence in the village. I thought this was a good idea and who better to start off with than the big man himself?
Jeff Pearce
Born in the early 60s, Jeff moved to Fleckney with his wife, Rita, in 1988. Together, they have two daughters and three grand-children.
Now semi-retired(?), Jeff spent 30 years as a prison officer; 12 at Gartree and 18 at Glen Parva Young Offenders. However, after 6 months he was climbing the walls (as was Rita!) so he returned to work as a security officer at Joules Distribution Centre in Corby.
Jeff is a big man with a big heart. He has raised staggering amounts of money for many local charities over the years. He prefers to help local charities as “you never know when you might need them!”.
This page barely touches the surface of the kindly giant’s achievements.
Jeff's
Charity Events
Pictured below are just some of the events that Jeff has put his weight behind. Let’s not forget though, the amazing people who helped, and continue to help, in the various activities. I must also thank Rita for sneaking Jeff’s folder to me so that I could purloin this information.
Timeline
2013 36 Hour Games Marathon
Why not start off big? A 36 hour games marathon at The Old Crown.
The games included cards, dominoes, pool, darts, table skittles, table football, and an X-box football contest. There was also a raffle for a signed Leicester Tigers rugby shirt
Thanks to Jeff, his helpers, and the people of Fleckney, the Leicester Royal Infirmary Bone Marrow Unit received a massive £6,824.50 from the event.
2014 Sponsored 24 Hour Pub Quiz
Just a long pub quiz? Not likely! The quiz was only part of the event. The Old Crown was also host to Stalls, Barbecue, Raffles, an Auction and live entertainment.
From midday on Saturday to midday on Sunday contestants had to answer Gemma's questions. Jeff's comments about this in the Communicata are well worth reading!
Pages reproduced by kind permission of Fleckney Communicata
Why? In memory of two Fleckney residents, that’s Why.
Lorraine Boulton died of breast cancer at the age of just 32, and Dave Parr, who was in his mid-40s, suffered a severe heart attack brought on by diabetes.
Once all the funds were received, representatives from LOROS and the Leicester Diabetes Centre were presented with cheques of £4,450 each.
2015 Charity Quiz Evening
Clare Duffus died aged 42 from a rare heart condition. She was treated at Leicester's Glenfield Hospital. Jeff's Charity Quiz Evening was held in Clare's memory in aid of the hospital's heart department. The event raised an impressive £2,032.10p.
2015 Fun Day
Help for Heroes was the benificiary of Jeff's October Fun Day. Cash donations, proceeds from the cake stalls and the raffle amounted to a fantastic £4,054.82p. This includes £247 from the sale of H4H merchandise.
2016 Family Fun Day
This charity concentrate on granting wishes to children living with life-threatening illnesses who are aged between 2 and 16 years. Craft stalls, BBQ, live music, tombola, bouncy castle, cake stalls, face painting and much more, were the order of the day.
Jack Harling, Chip Smith, and Dave Walker being shaved by Derek Ward
The target for this event was £2,000. With the headshave bringing in over £900 and there being 107 raffle prizes that target was smashed into oblivion. The final figure turned out to be a huge £6,500 that was presented to Lucy Dalgress of the “When You Wish Upon A Star” charity.
Pictured above is our Jeff handing over a cheque for £6,500 to Lucy Dalgress of the charity “When You Wish Upon A Star”. Also pictured are William Sanders and his mum Clare. William, also from Fleckney, has a condition called Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease (PMD) which is a rare genetic condition.
2016 Christmas Fun Quiz
GEMS Charity was founded in June 2012 by Andy and Sally Anderson of Kibworth after accompanying four close friends on weekly visits to the Osborne Chemotherapy Suite at Leicester Royal Infirmary. Inspired by the hard work and dedication of the nurses and the potential life saving procedures that happen in the Suite it soon became apparent that they needed as much help as possible to make the surroundings comfortable and homely.
The quiz, raffle, food, and donations from this event amounted to a fantastic £1,180.81
2018 Sponsored 24 Hour Pub Quiz
at the Golden Shield
After a break from prizing money from Fleckney residents in 2017, Jeff was back with another fund-raiser at a new venue. Two local causes were to receive the benefits from the day - GEMS in memory of Ann Harling and Albie's DIY SOS.
The poster should give you a rough idea of what went on. All records were broken as Jeff and his team managed to raise a staggering £9,401 to be shared between the two local causes.
In conclusion
I met Jeff and Rita shortly after moving to Fleckney. Hard to miss really as they live next door! Jeff is not an attention seeker nor a glory hunter. He’s a big man with a big heart. However, Jeff tells me that he doesn’t mind if someone was to nominate him for an O.B.E!!
I feel that Jeff and his team deserve some recognition for the work that they have done in raising £50,000 for the various local causes they have supported in the last few years. It goes without saying that you, the good people of Fleckney and surrounding district, also deserve a pat on the back. On behalf of Mr. P. and the charities you have supported, thank you.
Be warned though, Jeff’s not done yet. 2020 is a new decade with a new target. The big man will be contacting you all soon!!
