Jersey Dog Forum "knocks out" fundraising efforts with £7,000

Sunday 17 September 2017

They may not have achieved the highest score at the It's a Knockout event but the 20 members of Jersey Dog Forum topped the fundraisers' board with over £7,000.

Split in to two teams, Unleashed and Underdogs, the small group of dog-lovers raised the funds through cake and toy sales as well as several auctions for dog lovers.

The second edition of It's a Knockout took place at the Royal Jersey Showground on 9 and 10 September with 64 teams involved. In spite of the heavy showers, all competitors and the hundreds of islanders who came to support them seemed to enjoy the fun day of activities . The Jersey Dog Forum  got involved in the event, which combines a fun activity course with fundraising, upon the suggestion of Anne Mullock, the owner of Ollie Rocks. 

Most of the 20 team members did not know each other but came together to help raise funds for both the Special Care Baby Unit and Robin Ward at the Jersey General Hospital. While the Jersey Dog Forum and its 5,000 members are well known for its generosity and the incredible peer support between members, It's a Knockout was the first not dog related fundraiser they've got involved in. 

Pictured: Ollie Rocks came to support the dog-lovers at the event with his owner Anne Mullock.

Carla Channing and Jessica Kerfoot, the Forum's admins, said: "They did not all know each other but they came together to "do it for the kids" this time in an effort to benefit the wider community. The dog-owning community totally got behind their fundraising and there were numerous auctions for all kinds of things. People baked, donated or bought items, sometimes for other good causes as one of the auctioned cakes went to A and E. Businesses also donated their time or products, it was awesome! As admins we are really pleased that the group has been put to good use for such a great cause."

Pictured: The whole forum got behind the competing teams to help raise over £7,000.

Their efforts raised over £7,000, the biggest amount among the 64 teams.  Jessica Kerfoot, who was the captain of the Underdogs team, commented: "It is such an amazing cause we wanted to raise as much as possible and make the most of the opportunity. The Dog Forum went crazy for fundraising, it was amazing. It's fantastic what a group of strangers and 5,000 dog lovers can achieve." 

Pictured: It was a fun day for all involved.

While the team competed as one, they had to split into two groups as the maximum number of members per team is 10. On the day, they competed as "one big team," clad in Scooby-Doo and dog themed-costumes, although there was some friendly competition between the Underdogs and the Unleashed. The former finished in 18th position with 147 points, five places ahead of the latter who scored 139 points.

Pictured: "We are all a little achy but we had fun," said Jessica Kerfoot.

Ms Kerfoot said: "We never worried about who was going to get the most points. We are just pleased that we didn't come out last. It was a really fun day with great team spirit. It's rare to get 20 strangers together like this. We had some team meet-ups beforehand but some people met each other on the day. We are all a little achy but we had fun, I highly recommend it."

Pictured: Dog-themed costume were a must.

While they are still reconciling the funds collected during the event, the organisers confirmed that the dog-loving teams definitely raised the most, "We couldn't believe how much, it's amazing!" they told Express. Ms Kerfoot added: "It's something we had never done before, it's the biggest we have ever raised. We have raised about £12,500 since the forum started a couple of years ago. It's not bad for a bunch of dog lovers!"