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Steve's at the heart of our charity work

Steve's at the heart of our charity work

UCC Admin19 Feb 2017 - 07:20
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An update from our new Charity Coordinator...

For those who may not have heard, I have taken on a newly created role within the club, namely that of Charity Co-ordinator. This certainly does not mean that I have a magic wand or a patent on good ideas, so I thought it might be useful to provide a bit of information as to what is going on and where we are up to.

A bit about me
I have been a member of Upton for over 30 years and in that time have held a number of positions both on and off the pitch. For those who don't know me, as a player I bowled at lightening pace, was an athletic fielder and big hitting batsman. Those who do know me will know the truth.

Our Charity Partner
I hope you are aware that we do have a charity partner, that we have been working with them for just over 12 months and that it is Vital Signs Foundation (VSF).

Who are VSF and why did we choose them?
VSF are a relatively small, local charity who provide free heart screening for the reduction of sudden cardiac arrest in 15-35 years old. About 12 people aged 35 or under die every week from heart conditions with no apparent explanation. The charity was set up when the founder lost his own son to the condition when he was only 25 years old! More details about their work can be found on their website www.vsf.org.uk. VSF were chosen (following a membership vote) as a charity that we could not only help financially, but one that we could associate with for the benefit of our members and our wider community.

What has happened so far?
Throughout 2016, the club raised over £2,000 from a variety of sources: Selling badges; dry January; "Duck Donations", Completing the Birkenhead Park run in cricket gear; etc. Monies raised exceeded our own and VSF's expectations and enabled us to fully finance a screening event at Overchurch Junior School on 21st January. Over 70 people were screened and 1 person was referred for further tests (demonstrating how important this is to people's lives). Many of those screened were not club members, so we are also raising the club's profile in the local community.

What next?
Following the success in 2016, the Governing Committee have agreed to extend our partnership for at least 1 more year and my role is to try and co-ordinate that, thus leaving Governing to focus on the very important role of running the club! There are really 2 aspects to the role:

1. To raise money; and
2. To raise awareness of VSF and the important work they do.

How Can I help?
1. We have not set a specific target, however, we would like to raise as much money as we can and it would be great if we could finance another screening this time next year! We have to remember, however, that we also need money to run the club and so we are keen that monies raised for VSF are not taking money away from the club. Loose change donations can be put in the 'heart' in the club lounge, however, do you have any interesting, novel ideas for fundraising? Remember it mustn't be something that the club would do anyway. We are working on a few ideas, however, it would be great to hear yours.

2. We are already in the process of communicating with other cricket clubs in the league and have plans to talk to other sports clubs in the area about what we have done. It would be amazing if there were 4 or 5 screenings across Cheshire that have been initiated by our idea. If you have a link within an organisation (doesn't have to be sports based) that you think might be interested in either fundraising or a screening, please let us know. Equally, would your employer be interested in staging a screening for its employees? Again, please let us know.

I started by writing that I don't have all the answers but I am genuinely excited about this opportunity to, quite literally, save somebody's life! I hope you share that view and are proud of what your club has achieved over the past 12 months. With your help and support, we can continue to achieve great things.

Steve McCormick
Charity Coordinator

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