The promise behind a £10,000 rugby lunch for Noah Jordan Foundation

On a sunny Saturday in East Yorkshire, more than 200 people filled a rugby clubhouse, watched a match and sat down to a lunch cooked by a Michelin-starred chef. By the end of the afternoon they had raised just over £10,000 for a Cornwall-based charity set up in memory of a baby boy from Tywardreath.

The money from Driffield Rugby Union Football Club’s Pipe & Glass Day, held on Saturday 3 October, is going to The Noah Jordan Foundation, which funds research into POLG mitochondrial disease in children.

📷Guests at Driffield Rugby Union Football Club's Pipe & Glass Day charity lunch, with Michelin-starred chef James Mackenzie

A lunch with a Michelin star

Around 150 guests attended the charity lunch, with more than 200 people enjoying the wider event across the match, the clubhouse and the club’s Founders Bar.

The food came from James Mackenzie, chef and owner of The Pipe & Glass in South Dalton, who brings his Michelin-starred cooking to the club for its annual charity day. Guests were treated to an afternoon of rugby, sunshine and Yorkshire hospitality.

“It’s always a pleasure to bring a taste of our Michelin star Pipe and Glass food to Driffield Rugby Club on our annual charity day,” James said. “A packed clubhouse and Founders Bar of over 200 guests in total enjoyed pre- and post-match Yorkshire hospitality at its very best.

“It was an honour for us to support the Noah Jordan Foundation this year, hopefully raising more awareness and a good amount of funds for the Foundation.”

Andrew Chapman, President of Driffield Rugby Union Football Club, said: “It is a great privilege to use our club as a vehicle to raise money for such a good cause and one that is so close to our hearts. Thank you to James Mackenzie and everyone that helped to make it such a special day.”

Why Driffield chose a Cornish charity

The Noah Jordan Foundation was nominated by the family of Charlie Dodds and went on to be chosen as the club’s President’s Charity of the Year.

Charlie was just 11 months old when his family were told in July 2025 that he has POLG mitochondrial disease. Through their “Cure for Charlie” campaign, his family are working with the Foundation to raise awareness and speed up research into the condition, with the aim of finding effective treatments and, one day, a cure.

Charlie’s parents, Harrison and Ellie Dodds, said: “We are incredibly grateful to everyone at Driffield Rugby Club for raising £10,000 for The Noah Jordan Foundation. The Foundation is one of Charlie’s chosen charities, and the support Charlie and our family have received from the Driffield community has been incredible.

“We can’t thank the Club, its members, supporters and everyone who donated enough. Every pound raised helps drive vital POLG research forward and gives families like ours hope for the future.”

Noah’s story

Noah Jordan was born at Treliske, the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, on 5 June 2023, the second son of Ben and Natasha Jordan. His family describe a happy, healthy little boy who was always smiling and loved playing with his big brother, Freddie.

In February 2024 his parents noticed yellowing in his eyes. A call to 111 led to the urgent care centre in St Austell, then to Treliske, where doctors suspected acute liver failure. Noah was blue-lighted overnight to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, but he kept getting worse and tests could not find a cause.

On 1 March 2024 his parents were told Noah had Alpers-Huttenlocher Syndrome, a rare POLG mitochondrial disease that attacks the liver and brain, and that there was no treatment or cure. Too ill to make the journey home to Cornwall, he was moved to Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice in Berkshire, where the family spent his final days together. Noah died on 19 March 2024, aged nine months.

The Foundation set up in his memory funds medical research, raises awareness and supports families across the UK affected by paediatric mitochondrial disease. It is currently funding a PhD within the Mitochondrial Research Group at Newcastle University and is working towards funding further research into POLG.

“I will not let him down”

Ben Jordan, the Foundation’s founder and Noah’s dad, thanked the club and The Pipe & Glass for helping make the day so special.

“When Noah died, I made him a promise that the impact I would have on these diseases in my lifetime, for other children, would be his legacy. I will not let him down,” he said. “That promise is for children like Charlie. It is for his mum and dad, who I am proud to call friends, and every family facing the devastating reality of this disease.

“We know what it feels like to be told there is no treatment and no cure for your child. We know why research cannot wait.

“We couldn’t save Noah, but together we can change the future for other children like Charlie. Thank you to everyone at Driffield for helping us keep the promise I made to my little boy.”

More about the Foundation’s work is on The Noah Jordan Foundation’s website. Its motto sums up the mission in six words: the extinction of Mito, one stomp at a time.

📷Supporters of The Noah Jordan Foundation at Driffield Rugby Union Football Club's Pipe & Glass Day