THE PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS

During the close season we always have a general tidy up around the ground along with other jobs which best fit into the period between the end of one season and the beginning of another. I have previously dealt with the Annual Presentation Night but since we last kicked a ball in competitive matches a lot has happened here at Ingfield.

With regard to the developments around the ground I will cover that topic at a later time but supporters might be interested to know that we recently emptied the charity boxes which are situated on the bars throughout the season. The Yorkshire Air Ambulance boxes are overseen by our refreshment bar manageress Cath Bowker and a contribution has recently been sent to that particular charity. The Cardiac Risk in the Young charity boxes were also recently opened and I can report that a cheque for £42 has been forwarded to that particular charity in memory of Dan Wilkinson who suffered a cardiac arrest and died in a Northern Premier League game for Shaw Lane away at Brighouse Town.

As a community club this is just another important aspect of what we do and, therefore, we are extremely grateful to the generosity of our supporters for their donations to these two charities in particular. We also as a club support the Children’s Heart Foundation Fund by means of a clothing bank situated inside the ground adjacent to the Club Shop. Plenty of bags of unwanted clothing were picked up by the collection men. All contributions in the clothing bank go directly to the charity so if you are having a clear-out please bear this in mind.

Another charity we deal with on a regular basis is Kit for Africa. Our kit manger Stuart Garside has had a major sift through unwanted kit items including full playing strips and the area representative Dave Preston came through to pick up the donation which, we are pleased to report, completely filled the boot of his car. That will now be on its way to Africa to be distributed to clubs struggling to buy full kits for their teams.

We also make regular donations to the Great Ormond Street Children’s’ Hospital and support Andy’s Man Club as part of our commitment to being a truly community club. The other recipient of our donations is the South Ossett Church Foodbank for