From Season Ticket Holder Colin Finch who happens to be a friend of mine.
In this age of scepticism over scams, I'd like my fellow Addicks to know that the bucket collection outside* the Blackpool game is totally genuine.
Those shaking the buckets will be me (season ticket holder since Sellout Park and committee member of Lewisham and Chilterns supporters' club branches) and a couple of other staff, but mostly volunteers from Lewisham and Greenwich Victim Support schemes, all of whom are giving up a Saturday for nothing.
I can promise that not a penny of the cash collected goes on admin or salaries; all the monies raised through fundraising goes into a separate fund purely for hard-up victims. Recent examples of grants being the recovery fee for a pensioner whose dog was stolen (it turned up in Luton!) paying fares and accomodation for someone fleeing domestic violence, fitting new locks for someone who couldn't afford to change their locks after their keys were taken during a mugging.
I've persuaded some of the collectors to stay on and watch the game along with their kids; for virtually all of them it will be the first professional game they've seen live so please be nice to them as I'm hoping to get them to become Charlton fans of the future.
On behalf of Victim Support, thanks to the club for letting us take the place of another charity who dropped out (too cold probably!) and to any of you who contribute - we would appreciate anything you can spare, however small.
Colin Finch
Asst Manager, Victim Support Lewisham
(*As a season ticket holder, I'll be the only collector allowed inside, probably on the slope to the back of the east stand where I sit)
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