Special night remembers Paul Rice
Friends, family and former colleagues gathered at the Isla Gladstone Conservatory in Stanley Park for a special gala dinner held in memory of Paul Rice.
Paul, who was a lifelong Red and member of the Liverpool FC Supporters' Committee, passed away in January this year after a brave battle against blood cancer.
He was a familiar face among Reds fans and chaired the inaugural meeting of the Spirit of Shankly (SOS) Supporters' Union in 2008.
And on Friday night over £7,000 was raised by auction and raffle for Staff, Patients and Loved Ones Supporting Haematology (SPLOSH), the charity Paul formed while receiving treatment in the Royal Liverpool Hospital.
"The idea of the charity was to make people as comfortable as possible in very, very tough times in their lives," explained his brother Peter.
"Paul wanted to raise money to help the units he was being treated by. And Paul being Paul, he didn't set us an easy target - instead he set us a target of £50,000!"
A signed Xabi Alonso Real Madrid shirt, donated by former Red and friend of Paul, Sammy Lee, was the most expensive item auctioned, going to the highest bidder for £1,000.
Meanwhile, items donated by Liverpool Football Club, such as shirts worn in the Carling Cup final and signed by Glen Johnson and Jamie Carragher and tickets for the directors' box for the clash against Swansea, raised a combined £1,440.