Albany Community Hospice gearing up to host Jeremy McGovern and Glen Jakovich for annual fundraising weekend

The Albany Community Hospice’s annual footy stars fundraiser is back this weekend, with the city welcoming back homegrown star Jeremy McGovern alongside Glen Jakovich for a two-day program.

Last year the weekend raised more than $20,000 for the hospice.

The weekend kicks off with a sports dinner and memorabilia auction on Saturday night at Motel Le Grande, when returning favourite and AFL Hall of Famer Jakovich will sit down for an interview with McGovern, reminiscing on the former Eagle’s time at the top of the AFL game.

The pair will also head to the hospice on Saturday afternoon before the dinner gets under way to meet patients and their families.

The hospice’s volunteer team will host more than 100 attendees for the sold-out dinner and auction on Saturday, with all proceeds from ticket sales going to the hospice.

To complete the weekend, the Albany Golf Club is hosting its popular golf day on Sunday, which is already sold out.

Todd McGregor and Max Loveridge have handed over the reins this year to Jane Mouritz after 14 years organising the event.Ms Mouritz credited them for their years of hard work, and said while the mammoth weekend was a challenge, seeing both events sold out was testament to the Albany community’s never-ending generosity and support for the hospice.

“Albany is a big footy town, and Jeremy McGovern is an Albany boy and a revered footy star, so having him along for the weekend will be a treat,” she said.

“Glen Jakovich is coming back for another year. He is always so brilliant and he understands what hospice is all about, how we support people, and how important it is for us to keep doing what we do.

“I’ve had a sneak peak at the memorabilia being auctioned off on the night, and it’s quite the collection.

“There is always that lovely feeling of a lot of generosity in the room at the dinner, with everyone being there to support a local cause, and the auction is always another great reminder of how much local people care about and support what we do.

“The support we’ve received has been absolutely overwhelming, and this community just pulls it out of the sky when it comes to support for hospice at every event we do, so we really couldn’t be more grateful.”