FranckSuzy
18-06-2014, 10:46 PM
As things stand, none of us know what is happening on the park just now but off it, the picture is entirely different. Therefore, as it is coming up to the first anniversary of Leith Links, I thought I’d update everyone who has either kindly contributed or is just interested in our progress
Donations
To date, Leith Links has raised over £9,000 and we are currently in a position to purchase 94 Kicks for Kids (KfK) season tickets for next season :thumbsup: From the first cash donation (from the Milton Mowbray Hibs Supporters Branch) to the latest from a Hibby moved by a story of a wee boy being bullied at school, the support has been nothing short of remarkable.
We have also held two auctions and raised over £1,000, with items donated by Irvine Welsh, players, fans and even PR men :wink: One-off donations, standing orders and Direct Debits continue to roll in and currently, over £250 a month is pledged with offers to set up a monthly contribution coming in all the time.
Inclusion
In November, an invitation to an event being held in the Scottish Parliament started a chain of events which resulted in a partnership being established with the Multi Cultural Family Base (MCFB) and their excellent ‘scoring a goal for inclusion’ project. An appeal for football kit/equipment resulted in over 36 full strips being donated, along with bags of boots, trainers, gloves, socks and shorts. One kind poster on .net even went as far as buying trainers for a wee boy who was playing in his wellies PLUS his brother and sister :top marks Laterally, MCFB were invited to participate in the ‘ten second challenge’ during half-time at the last derby, thereby further cementing their connection with Hibs.
Leith Links’ sponsor and good Hibby, Mark, also offered to pay for all of the Black Minority Ethnic (BME) children who attend the MCFB football sessions to join the Hibs Kids, so they will all now get 5 free games a season, a birthday card, invite to the pantomime, etc, which is brilliant.
Just last weekend, Leith Links and MCFB also shared a stall at the Leith Festival Gala Day, which was a resounding success. Nearly £400 was donated and our profile was raised even further. Thank you to Stu (Pretty Boy) for his services as our goalie and to all of you who stopped by :agree:
Supporters
A befriender scheme now exists between Hibs fans and BME children, helping them integrate into our support even further. Ten kind supporters answered the call from MCFB earlier this year and we have high hopes for next season, with more interested people getting in touch all of the time. A wonderful gesture by wonderful fans, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Over the course of the year, tickets have kindly been donated for events as diverse as ice hockey games to help raise funds and last season, even the free tickets for the Partick Thistle game were given to deserving causes. Fantastic gestures and it is extremely heartening that people think of Leith Links and children when these opportunities arise.
Branches/Groups
Finally, I must acknowledge those groups which have provided their assistance over the last twelve months. Firstly, Hibs.net for: 1) allowing me to promote the fund on the forum in the first place, 2) the offer of a tie-in for fundraising to purchase KfK tickets and 3) the recent gift of vouchers that the kind winners of the ‘V Bookie’ competition donated. Hibs class indeed :flag:
Branches of the Hibernian Supporters Association (HSA) have also played their part and whilst I can’t name them all, suffice to say the response has been tremendous. The HSA also deserve a mention as their very generous donation of £750 was gratefully received just last week :aok:
And finally….
Articles about the fund have appeared on the official website and in the Edinburgh Reporter, and both were penned by Hibs fans. I even tried my hand by writing a wee piece for ‘The Leither’ magazine and ‘The Speaker’, to help spread the word. Our website has now had over 55,000 ‘new’ views, our Facebook page has 1,120 ‘Likes’ and we have 641 ‘followers’ on Twitter, so word is definitely getting out there. A recent sponsorship of Duncan Watmore’s boots brought us a whole new audience as we were listed in the match day programme and invited to the sponsors evening.
We continue to receive thank you letters from the groups who have used the tickets and it’s because of this reception, it’s been a pleasure to administer the fund (along with the other signatory – you know who you are! :wink:). But, it’s down to you, the Hibs fans, that it has been possible to get this far. Last year, I could never have imagined that we’d be sitting here, having raised enough money to purchase 114 tickets, SO FAR! :not worth GGTTH.
Donations
To date, Leith Links has raised over £9,000 and we are currently in a position to purchase 94 Kicks for Kids (KfK) season tickets for next season :thumbsup: From the first cash donation (from the Milton Mowbray Hibs Supporters Branch) to the latest from a Hibby moved by a story of a wee boy being bullied at school, the support has been nothing short of remarkable.
We have also held two auctions and raised over £1,000, with items donated by Irvine Welsh, players, fans and even PR men :wink: One-off donations, standing orders and Direct Debits continue to roll in and currently, over £250 a month is pledged with offers to set up a monthly contribution coming in all the time.
Inclusion
In November, an invitation to an event being held in the Scottish Parliament started a chain of events which resulted in a partnership being established with the Multi Cultural Family Base (MCFB) and their excellent ‘scoring a goal for inclusion’ project. An appeal for football kit/equipment resulted in over 36 full strips being donated, along with bags of boots, trainers, gloves, socks and shorts. One kind poster on .net even went as far as buying trainers for a wee boy who was playing in his wellies PLUS his brother and sister :top marks Laterally, MCFB were invited to participate in the ‘ten second challenge’ during half-time at the last derby, thereby further cementing their connection with Hibs.
Leith Links’ sponsor and good Hibby, Mark, also offered to pay for all of the Black Minority Ethnic (BME) children who attend the MCFB football sessions to join the Hibs Kids, so they will all now get 5 free games a season, a birthday card, invite to the pantomime, etc, which is brilliant.
Just last weekend, Leith Links and MCFB also shared a stall at the Leith Festival Gala Day, which was a resounding success. Nearly £400 was donated and our profile was raised even further. Thank you to Stu (Pretty Boy) for his services as our goalie and to all of you who stopped by :agree:
Supporters
A befriender scheme now exists between Hibs fans and BME children, helping them integrate into our support even further. Ten kind supporters answered the call from MCFB earlier this year and we have high hopes for next season, with more interested people getting in touch all of the time. A wonderful gesture by wonderful fans, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Over the course of the year, tickets have kindly been donated for events as diverse as ice hockey games to help raise funds and last season, even the free tickets for the Partick Thistle game were given to deserving causes. Fantastic gestures and it is extremely heartening that people think of Leith Links and children when these opportunities arise.
Branches/Groups
Finally, I must acknowledge those groups which have provided their assistance over the last twelve months. Firstly, Hibs.net for: 1) allowing me to promote the fund on the forum in the first place, 2) the offer of a tie-in for fundraising to purchase KfK tickets and 3) the recent gift of vouchers that the kind winners of the ‘V Bookie’ competition donated. Hibs class indeed :flag:
Branches of the Hibernian Supporters Association (HSA) have also played their part and whilst I can’t name them all, suffice to say the response has been tremendous. The HSA also deserve a mention as their very generous donation of £750 was gratefully received just last week :aok:
And finally….
Articles about the fund have appeared on the official website and in the Edinburgh Reporter, and both were penned by Hibs fans. I even tried my hand by writing a wee piece for ‘The Leither’ magazine and ‘The Speaker’, to help spread the word. Our website has now had over 55,000 ‘new’ views, our Facebook page has 1,120 ‘Likes’ and we have 641 ‘followers’ on Twitter, so word is definitely getting out there. A recent sponsorship of Duncan Watmore’s boots brought us a whole new audience as we were listed in the match day programme and invited to the sponsors evening.
We continue to receive thank you letters from the groups who have used the tickets and it’s because of this reception, it’s been a pleasure to administer the fund (along with the other signatory – you know who you are! :wink:). But, it’s down to you, the Hibs fans, that it has been possible to get this far. Last year, I could never have imagined that we’d be sitting here, having raised enough money to purchase 114 tickets, SO FAR! :not worth GGTTH.