A local marketing company has put Welsh snooker ace Mark Williams through his paces to help raise money for the Wales Air Ambulance Charity and Pembrokeshire’s veteran VC Gallery hub.

Connect: Pembrokeshire promotes businesses, events, sports, and charities in the region and decided to bring all its interests together for a fundraising event.

Dan Metcalf, from Connect: Pembrokeshire, said: “We’re also connected with a handful of charities, including the VC Gallery and wanted to give back. So, creating a legacy project which combines all the things we enjoy doing – just seemed the most natural thing to do.”

“We all love our sports including snooker and when Mark Williams agreed to get involved with our first big event, it all grew from there.

“He is such a laid-back character, and he was amazing from the off.

“When the evening started, we got him to play thirty frames of pool. Frames are a lot quicker than snooker so it meant we could get more people involved.

“We wanted to give a wide range of people in the room a chance to play. They were from different organisations; businesses who sponsored the event, the charities themselves and the general public.

“We also had guest speakers, a volunteer from Wales Air Ambulance spoke about the charity and Barry John, Director of the VC Gallery,” continued Dan.

“We wanted to help support a national charity that serves the whole of Wales and the air ambulance is there for everyone when they need it most.

“We also know a lot of organisations that we work with have fundraised for it too. Plus, we see the helicopter in the area a lot.

“In a perfect world it wouldn’t be needed but it is, and we know its importance so wanted to raise awareness to highlight the work it does.

Snooker ace Mark Williams (Pic: Moonbeam Media Wales)
Snooker ace Mark Williams at the table (Pic: Moonbeam Media Wales) (Pic: Moonbeam Media Wales)

“We raised £2,237 on the night which will be shared between both charities. We’ve got lots of ideas up our sleeves and are excited to raise as much money as we can,” added dan.

The Wales Air Ambulance Charity needs to raise £11.2 million each year to keep its helicopters in the air and rapid response vehicles on the road. Donations and fundraising events are key to its survival.

Mark Stevens, Wales Air Ambulance’s Head of Fundraising, said: “It’s fundraisers like this that enable us to continue to travel the length and breadth of Wales saving thousands of lives each year.”