01 Mar £1,213 donated at Foundation game

An off the field review of Saturday’s fixture

The generosity of Huddersfield Town and Charlton Athletic fans came to the fore on Saturday as the Club hosted its first ever ‘Town Foundation game’.

The fixture was used to raise the profile of Town’s official registered charity, which aims to improve the quality of life for young people across Huddersfield and the wider West Yorkshire area.

Key to the day was a bucket collection, which was made possible by an army of volunteers including Town fans and business leaders across the region, such as the Mid-Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce’s Andrew Choi. Football fans dug deep in their pockets on Saturday and raised £1,212.82 for the cause.

“On behalf of the Town Foundation and its Trustees and Patrons, I would like to thank all the fans that came down to the game on Saturday and donated via the bucket collection,” the Town Foundation’s Corporate Fundraising Officer Mandy Taylor explained.

“Given that it costs an average of 50p per day to feed a healthy and nutritious breakfast to a young person at one of our ‘Early Kick-Off’ Breakfast Clubs on a morning, you can see what a huge difference this will make to the young people that need it most in our region.”

The bucket collection was just the tip of the iceberg this weekend, with lots of activity planned around the game.

As the game fell during the week of World Book Day, the Town Foundation teamed up with Club Partner Igloo Books to provide under-10s attending the game with free books on a first come, first served basis and in total over 1,500 books were given to children in attendance by the ‘Town Family’.

Children representing the Early Kick – Off Breakfast Club at Netherhall Learning Campus made their way to pitch side ahead of the game to form the pre-match Guard of Honour as the team entered the field.

They were back on the pitch during the half-time interval to formally receive their free books from John Styring of Igloo Books and Charity Trustee Caroline Lee, of local company Kid Premiership and One17 Design.

Some of Town’s junior club partners were also involved in the afternoon. During the half-time interval, Town’s representatives in the npower U11 Kids Cup, Honley, took on fellow Club Partner Kirkheaton in a challenge match ahead of their regional final on Thursday, running out as 2-0 winners.

Elsewhere Brighouse Juniors walked from their home ground to the match to raise funds for a new clubhouse – they are pictured with Terry the Terrier!

The latest instalment of the Terrier 7s Scheme on Saturday too, with the next generation of Huddersfield Town fans being introduced to the Club – receiving a starter pack from Town’s injured Development Squad defender James Burke.