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Perfect match as charity football team and Derbyshire business raise more than £1,500 for city special school’s sensory room

Perfect match as charity football team and Derbyshire business raise more than £1,500 for city special school’s sensory room

FATBALL - a Derby football team which donates all of its profits to local charities – has raised more than £1,500 for good causes since Prime Minister Boris Johnson lifted coronavirus restrictions on competitive sport being played earlier this year.

 

The group of amateur footballers, who boast over 200 members and meet three times a week – at the Racecourse, Derby and Long Eaton United’s ground - have donated almost £10,000 to city charities and not-for-profit organisations since forming two years ago.

Their most recent beneficiaries include Social Eyes; a group which supports adults with learning difficulties and St Giles School – Derby’s only special primary school, which received a cheque from Fatball for £1,600. This also includes a generous donation from Derbyshire-based Cosy Direct, which sells ethical educational supplies to schools and nurseries.

St Giles will use the money to fund equipment for a sensory-room on their main site, in Hampshire Road, Derby.

Tom Few, Assistant Headteacher at St Giles School, accepted the cheque on behalf of the school from Cosy CEO Peter Ellse and Fatball players Sam Moore and David Martins.

He said:

“We are delighted to have received this donation from Fatball and Cosy Direct and it will be used to support with resources and equipment for our school.

“It is great for the local community to be involved in a project to support our school and the donations are very kindly received from all at St Giles School.

“We would like to thank all involved for their efforts and kind donations, which will greatly benefit all of our pupils here at St Giles.”

Fatball was founded by friends Luke Harrison, Mark Hirons and Oliver Wright. Their aim is to get men and women from Derby fit by playing football with players of a similar standard, whilst also raising funds for good causes in the area.

Each player pays a weekly fee of £5, with profits going to local causes suggested by its members.

The past 12 months have, due to covid restrictions, seen Fatball play less football than they would have liked – but they have been busy behind the scenes donating food supplies to Derby County Community Trust’s community appeal and purchasing Christmas presents to support underprivileged children in Chesterfield.

Sam Moore was one of the first players to join Fatball. Now a manager of one of their teams – and a teaching assistant at St Giles – he’s proud to have had the support from the group over the last year.

He said:

“We try and promote good causes which are close to our hearts and, obviously working at St Giles School, I have first-hand experience of the good work which goes on here; it’s a cause very close to my heart.

“In the past, we’ve raised funds for Forever Stars; a charity which supports parents whose children have been stillborn as, unfortunately, a couple of our members have experience of being parents of stillborn babies.

“And we have a member whose dad had Motor Neurone Disease, so we raised funds for them, too.

“The group has grown so much since I first joined and, particularly over the past 12 months, they have been a great support network – even though very little football has been played.

“Fatball is a great way of keeping fit, playing sport and also raising money for local charities and not-for-profit organisations, many whom have been hit hard financially during the coronavirus pandemic.”

For further information on Fatball, visit their Facebook page: facebook.com/fatballderby


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