Fareham waitress Kim raises the bar with cancer charity efforts

Kim Loader has raised more than Â£4,000 for charity in memory of her husband

Some golf clubs have a reputation for snobbishness and being full of uncaring, self-absorbed people.

This cannot be said of Cams Hall Estate Golf Club at Fareham, with staff rallying around to help one of their colleagues in her time of need.

When the club’s chef, David Loader died at Queen Alexandra Hospital last year from oesophageal cancer at the age of 56, the club’s team responded in a big way.

They supported Dave’s widow Kim by helping her raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support in the Portsmouth area. So far, the total raised is more than £4,000, and it’s still rising.

Even though Kim’s emotions were raw and still are, she wants to give something back to the Macmillan organisation which did so much while Dave was in critical care for 30 days.

Grieving his loss, Kim and her family have thrown themselves into fundraising mode and pulled out all the stops.

Sponsored head shaves by family members took place, while a Pompey football shirt and Arsenal pennant signed by all the players were auctioned.

Family tickets to the Explosion! Exhibition of Naval firepower at Priddy’s Hard and Marwell Zoo also went under the hammer, as well as meals at Antonio’s tapas bar, Kuti’s Indian restaurant and Lauro’s Brasserie.

Finally, generous local bakers like Rich Products gave cakes, and panto tickets went up for grabs.

Members at Cams Hall backed Kim all the way, sponsoring holes on the golf course for the Dave Loader Golf Day, which included a 72-hole challenge.

A box on the bar at Dave’s wake raised £650 alone, and the club installed a wooden bench facing the afternoon sun, inscribed to Dave’s memory.

David and Kim were a husband and wife team at the club for 13 years. He was the chef and she still works as a waitress and barmaid.

They met in Weymouth in 1977 when they were both very young – Dave had joined the Royal Navy the year before and was to serve for 24 years, retiring in 1999 as a Petty Officer Chef.

They worked together in the Senior Rates’ Mess in HMS Sultan before going to Cams Hall Estate Golf Club.

Dave was a bit of a hero at Cams Hall. When a golfer collapsed at the club, Dave’s naval training kicked in and he gave the man CPR for 20 minutes until paramedics arrived.

The man survived because Dave never gave up, and Kim’s doing the same with her fundraising.

To donate, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/ke-loader.