A COMMUNITY football club is to support the East Lancashire Hospice by featuring the charity's logo on one of its kits.

It is part of a wider partnership which has already seen Clitheroe Wolves donate £1,700 to the Hospice.

The club has teams from junior levels all the way up to two mens walking football teams. 

Club secretary David Crook said: “Every team has a sponsor. It is usually a business within the Ribble Valley area.

"With the tricky period of lockdown and not being able to run the club as easy, as we all returned back, we noticed one kit had been organised by a coach themselves and paid for without a nominated sponsor. 

"The Under 11 Yellows kit looked strange being plain and so it was the most obvious thing for us to do - add the East Lancashire logo to the kit!

"The kit now looks very smart, and the team are looking forward to playing whilst representing East Lancashire Hospice as their charity."

David is one of the many people at the Clitheroe Wolves Football Club to have discovered how important East Lancashire Hospice is to a loved one.

When his mother-in-law Glenys Smith used the services at the hospice back in September 2020, he, like others in the Ribble Valley area, found the hospice was there for them.

The latest gesture comes on the back of a donation from members.

David added: "During lockdown when subscriptions were to be suspended due to no football being played, many parents and members opted instead to continue paying the monthly subscription fee, which had been cancelled. People wanted to still donate to the club. £5, 10, £20 - it all added up.”

Instead of putting all the money directly into the club, it was suggested by David, with agreement from the committee, that a percentage of the donations paid would be gifted to East Lancashire Hospice. 

With 900 members registered within various teams, the money quickly mounted up. 

David said: “Families were happy to keep donating to make sure that our doors stayed open after the pandemic and were very generous. During lockdown we managed to raise £1,700 for the hospice.”

Meanwhile, the Walking Football Club are also organising a Charity Tournament and Family Fun Day on the 18 June at Edisford Rd, Clitheroe on behalf of East Lancashire Hospice.

Entry is free to the day and everyone is welcome to take part in all the fun. 
To register a team for the Walking football tournament you can click here