Drive it Day raises £1,800 for Farleigh Hospice and Mind

After a year’s hiatus due to COVID-19, the event was aptly named the "Wheel Meet Again Drive Out Day” as club members and their families got to meet up once again for this annual charity event.

The 50 mile route featured Tulip Rally instructions, starting at Buckhatch Nurseries in Chelmsford, and finishing at Hyde Hall where there was a car judging, refreshments and a raffle.

A total of 73 cars drove the course, including four or five Bull Nose Morris vehicles made in the 1920s. Some of these classic cars drove as far as 20 miles to take part in the drive out day, high mileage for vehicles that are 100 years old!

The aim of the CCVC is to raise money for charity and celebrate classic cars. The club holds regular events that allow members to indulge their passion for cars and fundraise for a chosen charity. In the 20 years it has been running, the CCVC has raised over £350,000 for local and national charities including Farleigh Hospice.

The club has supported Farleigh Hospice a number of times in the past and kindly opted to support the hospice once again, splitting the £1,800 raised at ‘Wheel Meet Again’ between Farleigh Hospice and Mind.

The club was supported by the generosity of Buckhatch Nurseries who provided the use of their field as well as providing refreshments and bacon rolls at to start off the drive. RHS Hyde Hall generously offered a discounted rate for participants of the drive to explore the garden in addition to being the finish location. Billericay Mayflower Rotary provided 12 marshals to ensure things ran smoothly on the day.

Less Smith, Secretary of the CCVC said: “Wheel Meet Again was a real success, the weather wasn’t on our side, but we didn’t let that dampen our spirits and a great time was had by all. I’d like to say a big thank you to Buckhatch Nurseries and RHS Hyde Hall for providing the venues and letting us use their services, and to and Billericay Mayflower Rotary for the volunteer marshals, without their generosity this event wouldn’t have been possible. I’d also like to thank the drivers, navigators and their families for taking part, their entry fee as well as their generosity in supporting the raffle made it possible for us to raise as much as we did. The whole ethos of the CCVC is to give back to charity and without the support of our members and local businesses we wouldn’t be able to hold these events. We are pleased to be able to support Farleigh Hospice at time when fundraising is harder than ever before because of the pandemic.”

Debbie de Boltz Fundraising Manager at Farleigh Hospice says: “We are so thankful to have the support of fundraising organisations like the CCVC. We rely on our community to help us raise the £6 million we need every year to care for people locally affected by life-limiting illness and bereavement. With the number of people needing specialised palliative care and bereavement support growing every year, this generosity is more important now than ever before. Thank you to Les Smith for organising such a wonderful fundraising event. We look forward to news of the next drive it day!”

The CVD will be holding more fundraising events next year visit ccvcuk.co.uk for more information.