School children filled the Wham Stadium on Tuesday as they received free shirts as a part of Andy Holt’s initiative to bring the club closer to the local community.
Year 3 pupils from across Hyndburn were welcomed to the stadium by players, management, and (of course) mascot, Winstanley.
They each left with a brand-new Stanley shirt, goodie bag of gifts, a footie flag, voucher for a match and big smiles on their faces.
After receiving their shirt and gifts directly from the players, every attending school was given the opportunity to have a group picture taken at the Studio Family Stand with the League 2 Champion’s Trophy- that they will be able to cherish as a keepsake of their memorable visit for years to come.
Accrington Stanley Football Club has committed to the event for the next four years after a spectacularly successful shirt giveaway in February of this year.
Local businesses came together to ensure the event went off without a hitch creating a sense of community spirit.
Amongst them were local transport companies: Pilkington Bus, Cranberry Coachways, Moving People and Express Travel – who made sure the children, alongside their teachers, got to and from the event safely to take part in the super celebrations. The flags were sponsored by Property Shop and Accrington and Rossendale College.
Andy Holt, Chairman at Accrington Stanley, commented:
“With the support of The Accrington Stanley Community Trust, we invited schools to bring along all their year three pupils to the Wham Stadium for a free shirt. Being outside and active was day to day life for me as a young boy growing up. In more recent years there’s been less of an emphasis on community sports for children and I hope coming here to the Wham Stadium inspires some young people. We want them to be proud of their Accrington roots.”
John Coleman, Manager of Accrington Stanley Football Club said:
“It’s fantastic, it’s something we will embrace for the future.”
Seamus Conneely, Captain of Accrington Stanley Football club said:
“It’s about reaching out the community, letting the children of Accrington know we are here, and we would like to see them come down on a match day.”
Billy Kee, player for Accrington Stanley said:
“We are a family club… we love seeing them here and we need support from all ages.”
The event was organised by Scott Dawson Advertising as a part of the #AmazingAccrington initiative. Murray Dawson, Managing Director, commented:
“We are incredibly proud to be able to organise such events. The power of local people truly shines through and the community came together to provide the children with lasting memories. These children will be the future supports of Accrington Stanley so it’s absolutely fantastic to see them so immersed and enjoying the day! A huge thank you to everyone involved, it’s a mammoth task and couldn’t have been achieved without so much support.”
