Bury St Edmunds grandad Gary Sharpe honoured with third Sharpie’s Cup charity football match
A grandfather who took his own life is being remembered with a football match to raise funds for charity.
The annual Sharpie’s Cup is set to return on Sunday, August 18 at the British Sugar Sports and Social Club in Bury St Edmunds.
Now in its third year, the match honours Gary Sharpe, known as Sharpie, who took his own life in May 2022 following the death of his wife, Mollie.
The event, which is raising money for St Nicholas Hospice Care and Hope After Suicide Loss, has been organised by Gary’s friends and family including his step-daughter Heather Mortimer.
Speaking on behalf of the entire family, Heather said: “I think Gary would be so proud of the whole family as the event just keeps getting bigger and better. As the grandchildren get older, they are also getting involved which is amazing.
“Obviously we were all heartbroken over what happened – it completely shattered our family at the time. But this gives us a reason to push forward and we’re so happy to be doing something so positive out of such a negative thing that happened.
“The main message now is just to keep raising awareness of what happened and to hopefully remind people to be aware that even when your friends or family members say they’re doing okay, they might not be.
“We chose to split the money raised this year with St Nic’s and Hope After Suicide Loss which offers support for people in Suffolk and Norfolk who are facing something similar that we all went through – so that’s just really close to our hearts.”
Kick off is at 11.30am and the day is free for anyone to attend and there will be a raffle, children’s and adult’s tombolas, a sweets stall and the club’s bar will be open from 12pm.
In previous years, a team made up of Gary’s friends and family played against Risby-Green FC, raising over £3,100 last year and £2,500 the year before. However, this year’s match will see the family side face off against former players of the Macebearer pub’s team.
Heather said that Gary and Mollie were regulars at the pub and had many friends there, so the opposing team is made up of people who knew them. As most of the players no longer play regularly, they have named their group chat ‘The Last Dance’ - making this the one and only time they will reunite on the field.
To find out more about the event, you can click here to see the Sharpie’s Cup Facebook page.
A follow-up event also organised by the family is set to be held on Saturday, October 12 with a charity 80s and 90s disco at Moreton Hall Social Club.
Last year’s sold-out event, under the name ‘Mollie’s Legacy of Hope,’ saw attendees donning leg warmers and glow sticks to celebrate the lives of both Mollie and Gary.
