An epic journey has now come to an end with the last donation of The Growling Swan Golf Society.
Not knowing where it might lead, Peter Grey and his happy band of golfers at The Growling Swan started collecting funds in 2012 to help children and those in need around the Pattaya area.
Funds were obtained by imposing a small financial penalty on those committing a minor infringement, perhaps forgetting some equipment, turning up late on the tee, hitting a ball into the water, spilling your beer or, even worse, spilling someone else’s beer, and the funds were placed in the safe hands of D-For, the furry dog who has certainly earned his retirement.
The purpose of the donations varied each year, with eight schools that had no access to clean drinking water. Thanks for D-For & friends, these schools had filtration systems installed where none existed. This saved those schools thousands of baht which had previously been spent on purchasing water from the local 7eleven or distributors instead of buying items essential to the education of the students.
Sports equipment and clothing are also on the list of purchases, plus funds to the Glory Hut Foundation to build a house for some of their residents.
You may be aware that the schools in Thailand normally start their scholastic new year in May, but for obvious reasons, this has been postponed until July. Uniforms are compulsory in all schools. Not just shirts but skirts/shorts, sports clothing and the scouting uniform for special occasions which we have all seen when travelling around. This is an expensive exercise for most families but even more so for those charities that have many children.
The Anti–Human Trafficking and Child Abuse Centre is a case in point. Khun Ja has 42 children in the centre, children as young as 4 years who have been abused in one way or another.
Buying uniforms was an annual headache that he could well do without, but this is where the Growling Swan came to the rescue with what was their last ever donation. Funds were on hand to help with this problem, which took the total amount of their donations to a remarkable 504,000 baht.
The Growling Swan is no more, but no praise is too high to Peter and those that supported him, both past and present, and we wish you good luck in your future endeavors.
