Charity Awards Update - January 2010

Below is just a small selection of our recent grant awards, along with feedback from the club nominated recipients. The amounts detailed below represent just a portion of the charitable funds raised from our recent games, with Field of Dreams nominated projects also benefitting. 

Blackburn Rovers 2007 - £2,000 to Friends of Broadfield Specialist School, which meets the needs of over 110 young people, aged 4-16 years:

"Friends of Broadfield Specialist School are extremely grateful that Field of Dreams and Blackburn Rovers have given us funds to purchase specialist equipment for our very special pupils. The big toys and bikes will provide a wonderful resource for improving the mobility and wellbeing of our pupils."

Blackburn Rovers 2008 - £2,000 to the East Lancashire Hospice, who offer palliative care to patients with advanced and progressive life threatening disease, particularly those suffering from cancer:

"We are delighted that we have been awarded the Field of Dreams funding grant. The award has enabled East Lancashire Hospice to purchase vital patient related equipment in the form of mobile oxygen concentrators. This equipment will be utilised within the in-patients and day therapy units allowing patients with breathing difficulties to become more mobile, more independent and to participate in group activity and exercise. We would also like to acknowledge Blackburn Rovers Football Club for their tremendous support of Football Aid and their continued support of the Hospice."

Bolton Wanderers 2009 - £2,000 to the Bolton Wanderers in the Community. Established for 18 years and now a registered charity, the scheme offers the local community a variety of activities such as; in-term coaching, after school courses, holiday courses, match day experiences, and sponsored events.

“We are extremely grateful and excited to receive this grant from Field of Dreams. It will help our Kickz project to expand and encourage more girls to take part."

Celtic 2009 - £12,858 to the Celtic Charity Fund, founded in 1995, the Fund was formed with the aim of revitalising Celtic's charitable traditions. Since then, it has raised and distributed almost £2m to a wide range of charities and continues to support charities in Scotland, Ireland, and across the World.

"Football Aid is a wonderful annual event that goes from strength to strength and your fantastic donation to Celtic Charity Fund will support initiatives in aid of sick children, the homeless, and the promotion of racial and ethnic harmony."

Chelsea 2007 & 2008 - £3,667 to CLIC Sargent, the UK's leading children's cancer charity, offering all round care and support.

"We are hugely grateful to Football Aid / Field of Dreams for their support, pro-activity and efficiency in delivering such a fantastic service."

An additional £1,666 went to Right to Play, who have a mission to improve the lives of children in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world by using the power of sport and play.

Derby County 2009 - £2,000 to the Derby Hospitals Charity, which supports all aspects of the work of Derby Hospitals, enabling those extra touches of care that are not provided for from statutory sources. It also helps medical staff to keep pace with the very latest technology and training - enabling patients to receive the very best and most up to date treatments available.

"Thank you so much to Field of Dreams for your help with the Teen Pride Appeal. Thanks to you we are getting nearer our goal of raising £40,000 to provide dedicated facilities for the teenagers who attend the Children's Hospital here in Derby."

Leicester City 2008 - £2,000 to Konnect9 Worldwide Ltd, (parent charity of Giving World Online) a not for profit organisation whose aim is to divert the world's surplus resources to meet the needs of the world's poorest people:

"Thank you so much to Field of Dreams and to Leicester City for this donation. As a small charity this donation will make a big difference in helping us to deliver our services to disadvantaged people."

Manchester City 2009 - £6,187 to City in the Community, founded in 1986, it aims to forge closer links between the Club and the local community. With a team of 20 full time and 30 part time staff CITC run projects based around four key areas: Sport & Adventure, Health & Lifestyle, Young People and Skills & Enterprise. 

"As ever we are very grateful for the support of Football Aid. The money we have received will help support our Kickz projects, which is helping to change the lives of hundreds of young people in Manchester."

Manchester United 2008 - £11,616 to UNICEF UK, the club has been working with UNICEF since 1999 through the 'United for UNICEF' partnership and the club has raised over £2 million for UNICEF programmes and has benefited over 1.5 million children worldwide. 

"Football Aid and Manchester United's support for UNICEF means that together we can help bring real improvements in the lives of children affected by AIDS/HIV. On behalf of UNICEF UK, I would like to thank you for this generous donation and for your continued support."

Manchester United 2009 - £25,000 to the Manchester United Foundation. It aims to use the passion for Manchester United to educate, motivate and inspire young people to build a better life for themselves and improve the communities they live in. The Foundation delivers football coaching, skills training, personal development and life changing experiences, providing young people with opportunities to change their lives for the better.

"The Manchester United Foundation is delighted to support Football Aid/Field of Dreams with their efforts to raise much appreciated charitable funds."

Newcastle United 2009 - £4,000 to the Newcastle United Foundation, which builds on the Club’s existing community work and aims to use the local passion for football to help young people in the North East of England.

"We wish to thank Field of Dreams for helping us to continue our work in encouraging, learning and promoting healthy lifestyles that can make a real difference to the lives of children, young people and families in our region."

Norwich City 2008 - £1,700 to the James Paget University Hospital, providing high quality services to patients, as well as training over one third of the medical students from the University of East Anglia and has a strong national reputation for research and excellence.

"The James Paget University Hospitals Charitable Funds wish to express their thanks for the continued support received from Football Aid and Field of Dreams. The Neo Natal unit will benefit greatly from the provision of two new saturation monitors which will enhance treatment available to countless children."

QPR 2008 - £2,000 to the St Stephen's Primary School, helping to fund nursery school equipment for the school's children.

"A massive thank you to Field of Dreams for their generosity in ensuring that our children get the best possible resources."

QPR 2009 - £2,000 to the QPR in the Community Trust, who aim to use the power of the football club to forge stronger & deeper connections with its community. QPR in the Community focuses on creating progressive, vibrant hubs of sporting & social activities, leading to enhanced life experiences.

"We would like to thank Football aid / Field of Dreams for this kind donation. The money will allow QPR in the Community Trust to deliver healthy living breakfast and lunchtime clubs at St Josephs School in Wembley. Health is a key objective for the Trust. Both the school and the Trust are looking forward to starting this healthy lifestyles project and the benefits it will have on the kids taking part."

Sheffield Wednesday 2009 - £2,000 to The Children’s Hospital Charity, which exists to support and enhance the services of Sheffield Children's NHS Trust and it's reputation as a centre of excellence for the research, prevention, care and cure of childhood illnesses.

“We are extremely grateful to Football Aid and Field of Dreams for this generous donation to our CT scanner appeal. It is a fantastic that our partnership with Sheffield Wednesday FC continues to go from strength to strength and we thank them for nominating us to benefit from this money."

Southampton 2008 - The club nominated their funds to go to the Saints in the Community, who reach out to over 130,000 young people each year, using the power of football to capture the imagination of the community.

"Saints in the Community sees Football Aid as a partnership which is a great opportunity for football fans as well as offering a funding stream to the Community Trust."

Southend United 2009 - £2,000 to the Southend United Community and Educational Trust, who have a mission to work in partnership with communities, continuing to deliver an inclusive range of educational, sporting and social opportunities, improving the quality of life for individuals and neighbourhoods in South East Essex.

“The donation will help us to inspire more individuals to achieve their potential in life and appreciate the need for generations to work together to benefit the community."

West Ham 2009 - £3,094 to Richard House Children’s Hospice, which offers support to families who have children with life-threatening or complex healthcare needs.

“Richard House is extremely grateful for this generous donation which will enable a play and care worker to offer therapeutic play to life threatened children over a 2 month period. Thank you so much."

Premier League 2007 - £4,746 to Contact the Elderly, a national charity which organises monthly Sunday afternoon tea parties for people over 75 who live alone with little or no support from family and friends.

"We are tremendously grateful to Field of Dreams for supporting our work in the West Midlands. We have one Sunday tea group already in Solihull however we know there are many more elderly people living in the area that would benefit from the company and conversation that our groups bring. Living alone when you are elderly can be a very lonely and isolating experience. Field of Dreams funding will help us to reach them and provide a friendly and supportive environment for people to meet, laugh and enjoy each others company!"