Duncan Thomas, manager of the Leckhampton Rovers Under 11's is significantly involved and if you read on very passionate about the Great Football Giveaway Charity....
Please do read on and be inspired to do something positive...
What does the Great Football Giveaway do?
Put simply, we buy footballs with donations from our supporters, and give them direct to children living in poorest parts of Africa. In the last few years our volunteers have hand delivered over 15,000 footballs and netballs direct to kids in some of the poorest rural areas of Malawi, Uganda (I led that one!), Angola, Zambia and Rwanda. Over time, with the support of football fans and players alike, we want to go to more countries across Africa and Asia suffering poverty, more refugee camps, and where appropriate more areas of civil conflict - in short wherever kids are denied the chance to kick a ball about and enjoy their childhood, we'll go.
What am I up to?
In September of this year, Paul Clarke (Director of the GFG) and I, will be visiting Tanzania to deliver the first phase of a project which will see us deliver around 6,000 football (and netballs) across the country; however this will not be a stroll through the Serengeti!......rural Tanzania suffers some of the worst poverty in sub-Saharan Africa; they have one of the highest HIV rates in the world and anything we can do to put a smile on these kids faces has got to be worth the effort. So, as with previous projects we will be going well and truly off the tourist trail with a view to finding that poorer rural school with no sports facilities, that orphanage or community project doing everything it can to survive or that boy or girl by the side of the road or in the remote village just kicking a rag-ball around.
How can you help?
2010 will be undoubtedly dominated by World Cup fever; however never has the beautiful game been so tarnished by the excesses of money, hype and celebrity. The Great Football Giveaway provides you with a fantastic opportunity to show what is really important about the beautiful game and how football can be used as a force for good. My promise to you is that if you donate (i.e. buy a ball for) a tenner, I'll promise to personally deliver that ball straight into the hands (or feet) of some of the most disadvantaged children in the world.
The majority of people in Cheltenham enjoy a relatively privileged life, but the love of kicking a ball about is something that connects all of us, whether it’s the galacticos down in South Africa, the pros at Whaddon Road, our lads in the local park, or indeed some of the most disadvantaged children on the other side of the world. This is Cheltenham’s opportunity to do their bit to use football as a force for good in some of the poorest parts of the world.
I would be more than happy to support anything that you may wish to do with your team if you have any ideas for fundraising i.e. come and give a talk/presentation etc. I also have sponsorship forms should you wish to organise a sponsored football match/run/tournament, beat-the-goalie competion etc. ..alternatively, you may wish to organise a World Cup sweep at your place of work. I also have a number of superb and professionally made pukka DVDs which I'm happy to loan out. The rights to these have gone worldwide to various cable TV networks and it was shown to the England squad as one of their in-flight movies!! Additionally, I'm in the process of getting 5,000 A5 flyers printed and I'll be more than happy to pass these on to share with your boys and their families.
I've been invited back to Leckhampton Primary School to do another assembly (they raised £400 in 2008) and I'll be hopefully getting on BBC Radio Glos and in the Echo again. If any of you have any links to schools, youth clubs, your place of work etc, then I'll be happy to come through and tell them all about it, if you believe that this is something that will resonate with them.
I've recently set up a just-giving account which makes for an easy way to donate
To see the difference a ball can make (and read my report on Uganda), just visit The GFG website.
Thanks for reading this through if you want further information or wish to discuss any ideas with Duncan please contact him via email e-mail or phone him on 07846 757905.
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