Generosity of Fans Gives Those Less Fortunate Chance to Watch The Reds

Disadvantaged families now have the chance to watch Wrexham play free of charge thanks to generous supporters who have raised hundreds of pounds to fund their season tickets.

In August Wrexham.com reported that a Crowdfunding campaign had been launched to raise funds for local children who wouldn’t normally get the opportunity to attend a live football match.

The fundraising was inspired by Dr Richard Dixon, an exiled Wrexham AFC fan living in the Oxford area who was aware of a similar fundraising initiative at Oxford United and was keen to trial it in Wrexham.

Richard wanted to help fund season tickets for disadvantaged children and young people in the Wrexham area. The idea was posted on internet message board, Redpassion and social media with tremendous support. Stuart Roberts from the Wrexham Supporters Trust (WST) community group was contacted and a campaign to help fund the season tickets began.

A target of around £500 was met in just a few days and as the support continued, it was decided to extend the target to twice the original amount which was also reached in just a few more days.

The fundraising campaign ran for just four weeks and thanks to the support from fans of Wrexham AFC and members of the general public, funds were in place to provide five adult season tickets and nine under 18s season tickets for young people and their families in the Wrexham area.

Barnardo’s, which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, gladly accepted tickets for their first game – the cross border derby match versus Chester.

A group of young people and their families, some of which had never attended a football match before, took the opportunity to attend the local derby on September 24 at The Racecourse.

Project Worker Jane Smith who supported young families to attend the match, said: “Poverty and poor mental health are the main reasons why the families we work with are unable to enjoy the leisure activities a lot of us take for granted. Many struggle to provide the basics for themselves and their children so the cost of attending a match is often out of reach.

“Some of the parents initially expressed anxiety at attending such a busy event but they were pleasantly surprised at how welcome they were made to feel and I think this is testimony to the inclusive ethos of Wrexham AFC supporters. All of them are looking forward to attending again and expressed their gratitude to those involved in providing this great opportunity.

“The direct feedback we have received has been very positive- “it took our minds off stress for a bit” and “we enjoyed it as a family” which underlines the beneficial impact it will have.

“On behalf of Barnardo’s Cymru I would like to thank the organisers of the funding, with particular gratitude to Stu Roberts (WST) who has worked hard to make this possible.”

Richard will meet some of the people who will be beneficiaries of the season tickets which will enable positive life experiences for local children, young people and their families and make an official presentation of the season tickets on Saturday 22 October at the Wrexham – Bromley game.