Season ticket holders raising funds for Acorns Children's Hospice...
TWO DEDICATED fund-raisers and Saddlers’ season ticket holders are marking the club’s historic first-ever trip to Wembley with a challenging eight-hour bike ride in aid of Acorns Children’s Hospice.Lifelong supporter, Barry Whitehouse, will be putting on his cycling gear for a 127-mile ride from Banks’s Stadium to Wembley on Saturday, March 21st, the day before our Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Final clash with Bristol City.
Barry, a senior lecturer at the University of Wolverhampton, has set a fund-raising target of £1,270 towards Acorns’ vital work providing care for life-limited and life-threatened children and support for their families.
“I’m really looking forward to the challenge,” he said. “It won’t be easy but the fact I’m doing it for a good cause will help spur me on.
“The route I’m doing is 125 miles but I’ll do a few of laps of Wembley when I get there to make it up to 127 – the number of years since Walsall FC was founded.”
Joining Barry for the ride will be friend and fellow Saddlers’ fan, Robert Wright, who works for Lloyds Bank at the Pendeford Business Centre and John Burke, who will be driving the support vehicle.
The fund-raisers are encouraging other Walsall fans who want to join them on the day to get in touch and help them reach their target.
“I know how important Acorns work is, so it’s an honour to be able to support them as well as getting behind Walsall on their first-ever visit to Wembley,” he added. “Win or lose, we’re just planning on enjoying the day at Wembley.”
Sally Insley, community fund-raising manager at Acorns, said: “We’re really grateful to Barry for embarking on this trip. It’s a fun and interesting idea and we wish the team good luck as well as The Saddlers on the big day.
“We rely on local fund-raisers like Barry to help provide the majority of the £8m-plus income needed each year to run our hospices, so I hope lots of people get behind him and help him complete this challenge!”
Please support the lads and Acorns by going to Justgiving: www.justgiving.com/walsalltowembley/ and pledging a donation.
To find out more about Acorns and how you can help, visit: www.acorns.org.uk
We wish them well in their challenge...