Stephen Knox tees off with Bronagh Luke from SPAR NI to celebrate the 2021 Oscar Knox Cup annual charity golf day, which takes place next month. The event has been pivotal in raising funds towards ground-breaking childhood cancer research projects around the world, raising over £100,000 since it began in 2016.
Download imageThe £100,000 milestone was reached after a lower-key Oscar Knox Cup in 2020, the flagship event that attracts many famous sporting faces and is organised by Oscar’s mum and dad, Leona and Stephen, who continue to fight for children battling cancer around the world.
This year, with the help of SPAR NI, Stephen is determined to keep the fund’s total rising at the already sold-out event, especially after a challenging year for charities and families living with cancer.
Stephen commented, “The Oscar Knox Cup is back for 2021, and we are back with a bang. We raised an incredible £11,436 in 2020 when we had a very low-key event, but we can go all-out this year with plenty of safety measures in place. We can’t wait for another great day of golf in the name of our wee man. Thanks to SPAR NI, we can raise the stakes for the event, invite even more event partners on board and bring more golfers onto the course to play for our incredible prizes.”
This year, those playing will be fuelled with a SPAR goodie bag, and anyone lucky enough to score a hole-in-one can win a Rolex watch courtesy of Pride & Pinion. Druids Golf has also donated a host of team prizes. Players will enjoy the traditional barbecue at the 9th hole, as well as a post-round meal and entertainment for all those playing and staying.
Bronagh Luke, Head of Corporate Marketing at SPAR NI partner Henderson Group, says they’re delighted to be back on course for the Oscar Knox Cup. “The fact that the event went ahead last year and still raised an incredible amount for this worthy cause is testament to the passion Leona and Stephen put into the memory of their wee Oscar and channelling all he went through for the greater good”, Bronagh Luke says.
“2021 is SPAR’s 60th year in Northern Ireland. We’re spending it with those in our community, safely supporting the initiatives we care most about. It’s an honour to be back with the Oscar Knox Cup and all in the Knox family. We wish all players good luck for a safe and successful event.”
Well-known faces are no stranger to the popular event, with boxers Carl Frampton MBE and Paddy Barnes regulars on the course, alongside Jamie and Michael Conlan. Snooker champ Mark Allen has also been known to swap the cue for a club in Oscar’s name.
Earlier this year, the Oscar Knox Fund helped fund a £500,000 transatlantic research project to help identify and treat chemotherapy-resistant neuroblastoma in newly diagnosed children.
Stephen added, “The aim is that this research will lead to much more targeted and effective treatments specific to the individual child’s disease and greatly increased survival rates.”
Donations can be made via justgiving.com/oscarknoxcup2021.
Source: SPAR UK
The UK became a SPAR member in 1956 when SPAR International granted the SPAR licence to a group of independent wholesalers. There are now five regional partners in the UK. A central office in London provides national marketing and buying services for the group.
SPAR has led the highly competitive convenience market in the UK for many years. Always innovative, the five regional partners have continued to grow the brand. SPAR UK comprises independently owned licensed retailers and company-owned stores. These include forecourts, airports, train stations, city centres, and local neighbourhood stores.
