Bristol Rovers Supporters Club are delighted to announce our new charity partnership with Southmead Hospital Charity, in what we hope will be a very long and fruitful association.
After a year where most of our activities have been curtailed we felt it was very important that we not just give back to our community but to be seen to be doing so. The choice of Southmead Hospital’s excellent charity was a very straightforward one; the hospital is extremely close to the Memorial Stadium and was easily the most deserving cause we could think of. It has been in the forefront in the battle against COVID and people that have been working there during this pandemic are rightly regarded as heroes. Our Executive Committee gave their unanimous support to this initiative, in fact seven out of eight of our committee members have very good reason to be grateful to the care and treatment given by Southmead Hospital over the years and if you extend that to the fanbase as a whole we suspect that a lot of Gasheads feel equally as grateful.
A JustGiving page has been set up to enable fans to make a charitable donation and it can be found at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bristol-rovers-supporters-club Don’t forget to sign up for Gift Aid which will allow the charity to reclaim an extra 25% in tax on your donation, at no cost to you. It goes without saying that both Bristol Rovers Supporters Club and the staff, patients and families at Southmead Hospital will be extremely grateful for any donations that are received.
We see this as just the opening stage of our association with the Charity. When restrictions are relaxed we fully intend to become more involved with fundraising at Southmead and in a very visible way too. Join us on 5 July, and raise a cuppa to the NHS as we mark it’s anniversary with The Big Tea. See https://www.southmeadhospitalcharity.org.uk/events/nhs-big-tea/
Chairman of Bristol Rovers Supporters Club, Jim Chappell says, “The Executive Committee is delighted to announce our commitment to Southmead Hospital whose staff have endured so much throughout the Coronavirus pandemic that has hugely affected so many lives. We all know someone who has passed away and/or suffered from the effects of the virus and sadly there are so many victims who were fans of our football club. We also know that those supporters who remain will be as committed to this great cause as they are to the Rovers and we look forward to a long and rewarding relationship with our brilliant local hospital upon which we all rely during the hardest of times. I ask all ‘Gasheads’ and ‘Pirates’ to get behind the Supporters Club’s initiative and follow us on our website and social media for future developments.
Jennie Jones is a massive supporter of Rovers and a Supporters Club member. Jennie, who works as a Senior Healthcare Assistant at the hospital says, “Working through Covid was a challenge. It was a scary situation for patients and staff alike, but I’m so proud of how we carried on and supported each other. We all stood together through this pandemic and fought it head-on. I’m not ward based but have nothing but respect for my fellow staff working on wards through this crisis. So much compassion was shown all around by people we had never met, and it was a great boost for both us and the patients. Fundraising for our Charity makes a huge difference to my colleagues, our patients and their families through some really tough situations.
“As a Bristol Rovers (Gashead) fan I stand behind the Supporters Club in helping them raise money for Southmead Hospital”.
Ian Riddell, Community Support Officer at Southmead Hospital Charity, said: “We have witnessed a real outpouring of compassion for our staff, patients and their families in the last 12 months, in what has been the NHS’ most challenging period in living memory.
“The Club is a huge part of our community, as is Southmead Hospital, so it’s even more touching to have their incredible support. All of us here at Southmead are so grateful and look forward to a fantastic partnership with Bristol Rovers Supporters Club”.
David Thomas
Secretary, Bristol Rovers Supporters Club
