CELTIC FC Foundation are delighted to confirm there will be a charity badge day at Celtic Park, prior to our final SPFL encounter of 2014/15 on Sunday, May 24.
On the day, supporters will be asked to make a minimum donation of £2 in return for a new and unique charity badge, details of which will be unveiled in the coming weeks.
We are currently looking for around 120 volunteers to be in place at all turnstile areas and, as a small token of our appreciation, each individual will be provided with a complimentary match ticket. To register as a volunteer, please email [email protected]
Over the years, the Club’s charitable arm has honoured the initial aims of our Founding Fathers and Brother Walfrid around alleviating poverty and supporting those who need it most.
In doing so, we concentrate on four key areas – Health, Equality, Learning and Poverty. Think HELP. Our ethos is to create opportunities and promote wellbeing for the most marginalised and disadvantaged people within our communities and we have a strong track record of delivering successful community-based projects across our four key areas. Examples include:
HEALTH Football Fans in Training
An extremely popular health and wellbeing project delivered through our partnership with the SPFL Trust. The male-only project has been studied for a number of years and celebrated great success with an extremely positive insert in the Lancet journal, showcasing the success of participants’ weight loss and health and wellbeing improvements. Due to the success of the male Football Fans in Training, we delivered an extremely successful pilot of the project for females and we are now in our second women-only intake and hope to continue to develop this project further.
EQUALITY Ability Counts
Operating since 2011, this successful and award winning partnership project between Celtic FC Foundation and Down’s Syndrome Scotland uses the power of dance and football coaching to engage, support and develop children and young people with Down’s Syndrome. This project has continued to grow from strength to strength and thanks to the fundraising efforts from the 2014 Sporting Dinner, it now has two years’ funding and more capacity than at any time before.
LEARNING Celtic Learning Centre
We deliver education sessions to those in need through assisted learning, scholarships, providing musical instruments, digital learning, adult learning and life management. To date, 29 Secondary Schools and over 100 primary schools have benefited from our education programmes. The Centre is also an accredited Centre for the etwinning community with over 100,000 schools registered across Europe.
POVERTY Christmas Appeal 2014
Christmas is one of the most challenging times of year for individuals and families who face poverty and homelessness. Last year saw the Christmas Appeal launched to our wider supporter network, asking them to help those in our community who are most in need. Income was generated through donations, Football Aid grant, the Ghirls for Good ladies lunch, a bucket collection, a number of items auctioned through our eBay account and proceeds from the sale of two retail items.
As a result, donations were made to 200 families and 10 charities. Celtic FC Foundation also provided a Christmas Party in the Kerrydale Suite for 200 P5 children from a number of East End schools as a result of the generous donations raised. In addition, we donated around £3,000 worth of toys to various children’s groups across Glasgow following our toy drive at the Ghirls for Good event.
Celtic FC Foundation will continue this drive to challenge issues around Health, Equality, Learning and Poverty, particularly on our own doorstep.
Tony Hamilton, CEO of Celtic FC Foundation, said: “At Celtic FC Foundation, we continue to receive phenomenal support from everyone who has an interest in this football club.
“Special credit for this charity badge day must go to our Supporters’ Committee who regularly give up their time to create and lead events on behalf of the Foundation. I would also like to thank every Bhoy and Ghirl who volunteers to support us on the day – we genuinely couldn’t do it without you.
“Last but by no means least, a heartfelt thanks in advance to every supporter who makes a donation and wears our charity badge with pride on May 24. Please don’t ever underestimate the difference you are making”
Mark Cameron, Chair of Celtic FC Foundation’s Supporters’ Committee, added: “A small act of kindness at the final game of Ronny’s first season as manager will go a long way towards helping Celtic FC Foundation’s ongoing work in our communities and beyond.
“I would encourage all supporters to get involved by either volunteering to give a few hours of their time to help on the day or to buy a badge. It really is that simple.
“Let’s all make it a memorable day for the club and for Celtic FC Foundation.”
Please give generously and help us make an even greater impact in the year ahead.
Thank you for your wonderful support.
