Help the club decide who goes on the shirt
Following last week's announcement that Oxford United will have new sponsors next season, the club and Bridle Insurance have conceived an innovative way of marking the end of Bridle’s three-year shirt sponsorship.
After farewell appearances for the Bridle logo in the next week’s two games, the Bridle logo space will be donated for the rest of the season to a charity chosen by the club, the fans and Bridle Insurance. Three charities will thus get significant exposure from Oxford United and Bridle.
United fans can vote whether the shirts are sponsored by one of the following:
- The Oxford Community Foundation
- Prostate Cancer UK
- Sobell House hospice
All three are fantastic charities and fans can help decide which logo is added to the front of the United shirts.
Chairman Ian Lenagan said:
"We thank Bridle for allowing us to do this and for showing generosity to end their sponsorship. Under Football League rules we can only change shirt sponsors once in the season and this is such a difficult decision between three fantastic charities that we have asked fans for their help. All three charities will benefit from the interest that we hope this opportunity generates and one of them will have a very high profile for the rest of the season."
Bridle Chief Operating Officer, Neil Fox, said "We are delighted and proud to have been main sponsors of Oxford United. We hope that the club have enjoyed and benefitted from our sponsorship and involvement. We have been pleased with the exposure we have received, so it seemed appropriate to utilise our remaining time to provide some valuable exposure to a worthy cause."
The three charities are:
1. The Oxfordshire Community Foundation
Oxfordshire Community Foundation is a major local charity improving the lives of Oxfordshire’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged by grant support on a project-by-project basis to a wide range of organisations throughout Oxfordshire both urban and rural.
OCF support any type of non-profit group that is taking action to make life better for local people anywhere in Oxfordshire with a specific focus on:
• Enriching the lives of young and elderly people
• Encouraging local sporting activity
• Enabling events to involve as many people as possible
• Relieving deprivation, disability or social exclusion
A typical grant is anything between £500 and £5,000 - vital funding that is highly effective in addressing social deprivation that usually would not come to the notice of local donors or the public at large.
The Foundation raises funds from local businesses and individuals for this work, inspiring, influencing and enabling individuals, businesses and other organisations to think local and give local.
Oxfordshire Community Foundation was established in 1995 and has successfully:
• contributed over £3.65 million to community projects
• supported more than 1,800 local organisations
• awarded more than 1,300 grants
• built endowment funds of over £2 million
An OCF Trustee commented :
“To be on the Oxford United shirts for three months would dramatically increase the profile of the Oxfordshire Community Foundation and allow us to get to the needy organisations who would benefit most from our grant-making funds, plus it would help us to attract even more local donors.”
Find out more here: http://www.oxfordshire.org
2. Sobell House
Sobell House told us:
"The Sobell House Hospice is proud to be shortlisted by Bridle Insurance and OUFC to be potentially emblazoned on the team’s shirts.
"For almost 40 years the Sobell House Hospice has cared for individuals and families throughout Oxfordshire.
"Annually we care for around 3,000 people offering specialist palliative care either in the hospice in-patients unit day-centre service; bereavement care or through the work of our community care team visiting patients in their own homes.
"One in three families will be affected by cancer and one in three of those families will experience palliative, end-of-life care.
"The Sobell House Hospice only takes patients from Oxfordshire, making us unique in the county. We also actively fundraise solely in Oxfordshire; therefore the support of our community is crucial to our existence.
"We would like to thank Bridle Insurance for choosing Sobell House and the fans of the U’s for your on-going support.
"We couldn’t do it without you".
3. Prostate Cancer UK
Prostate Cancer UK is this season's official charity for the Football League.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK. Over 40,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year. Over 250,000 men are currently living with the disease.
Prostate Cancer UK fights to help more men survive prostate cancer and enjoy a better quality of life. They have three priorities:
• Supporting men and providing information
• Finding answers by funding research
• Leading change to raise awareness and improve care
Oxford United supporters are asked to visit all three of the charity websites and then vote for their chosen charity.
Voting is simple just email admin@oufc.co.uk with your choice of charity. Please write COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, SOBELL, or PROSTATE CANCER in the subject line.
There will also be a voting form included in the match programme for this Saturday's home game against Bristol Rovers.