THE Keith Forsythe Memorial Raffle has raised a total of £14,000 which has been divided equally between two local charities – Air Ambulance Northern Ireland, and the Laurel House chemotherapy unit at Antrim Area Hospital.
Organised by the Forsythe family from Moneymore, the raffle’s top prize was a pedigree Aberdeen Angus heifer from their long-established and highly regarded Coltrim Herd.
The November 2021 born in-calf heifer Coltrim Evana X747 was sired by Tofts Evergarth R409, and was bred from Coltrim Evana V213. She made her showring debut at the NI Aberdeen Angus Club’s calf show in Dungannon last year, and also chalked up a number of prizes on the summer show circuit, including the reserve championship at Ballymena Show in June.
The winning tickets were drawn at the 103rd Clogher Valley Show. Winner of the star prize, Coltrim Evana X747 was Stuart Hawthorne from Kinallen, County Down.
Stuart has recently established the Tullyara Aberdeen Angus herd, and Evana joins two foundation females purchased privately from the Dartrey herd owned by Hylda Mills at Scarva. One of the heifers is a descendant of the Diana cow family which originated from the Forsythe’s Coltrim prefix.
Second prize of £100 was won by James Mallon from Swatragh; while the £50 third prize was won by Paul Millar from Stewartstown. Both winners donated their prizes back to the charity fund.
Keith Forsythe was a much-loved son, brother, father, grandfather and uncle. He lost his long and courageous battle with cancer thirteen months ago.
Ivan Forsythe explained: “We decided to organise the charity raffle in memory of my brother Keith. He passed away three months short of his 50th birthday.
“Keith was very proud of our Aberdeen Angus heritage, and we wanted to do something in his honour, as well as raise much-needed funds for two very worthy charities.”
The Forsythe family have been overwhelmed by support for the charity raffle. “We would like to thank everyone who supported the raffle,” added Ivan Forsythe.
“Special thanks to close family friend Alex Robinson from Dunadry near Templepatrick, who gave freely of his time to sell tickets at numerous agricultural shows and other local events.”
Cheques for £7,000 each have been presented to Air Ambulance Northern Ireland, and Laurel House based at Antrim Area Hospital. save lives, but the people who support our service. Thank you to everyone for your support.
Air Ambulance NI works in partnership with the NI Ambulance Service, to provide a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) for the region.
The helicopter can get anywhere in the province in approximately 25 minutes, and its rapid response is vital in an emergency situation. The service runs for 12 hours daily and is operational 365 days of the year.
The crew includes a pilot, doctor and paramedic who attend some of the most traumatic medical incidents. They are dedicated to delivering the very best possible pre-hospital care, both at the scene and whilst transferring the patient to hospital.
Breige Mulholland, head of operations and finance at Air Ambulance NI, thanked the Forsythe family for its generous donation. “We need £2.5m annually to kept the service operational. As a charity we are fortunate to count on tremendous public support and good will. It’s not only the medical crew who save lives, but the generosity of the people who support our service. Sincere thanks to the Forsythe family and everyone who supported the charity raffle.”
Laurel House delivers chemotherapy and other supportive treatments to cancer patients across the Northern Health Trust. Moyra Mills, Cancer Services Manager said: “This very generous donation will be used to continue to support a range of different initiatives that we have ongoing within Laurel House, as well as purchase specialist equipment or furniture to improve patient comfort.
“Ongoing initiatives include the development of new prehabilitation posts which will offer support, both physically and emotionally, to patients in preparation for their treatment. We are also developing and testing new specialist nursing roles to support patients from the point of diagnosis; and running training courses for staff to enable them to provide the best possible care for patients and their families.”
The Laurel House chemotherapy unit at Antrim Area Hospital has received a cheque for £7,000. Staff nurse Akhila Abraham, and Moyra Mills, Laurel House Cancer Services, received the cheque from Alex Robinson, Ivan Forsythe and Marian Forsythe.
Breige Mulholland, head of operations and finance, Air Ambulance Northern Ireland, receives a cheque for £7,000 from Alex Robinson, Ivan Forsythe and Marian Forsythe.
