Over the last few years Oxford United have been very pleased to support the work of Goodwill and Growth for Africa UK, with the club donating past kits to the charity who then distribute it to children in Sierra Leone.
Earlier this year terrible floods and mudslides hit Sierra Leone and Alan Wolstencroft, who helps with the delivery of the old OUFC kits for the kids, told us that although the school that we deliver to hadn’t been hit, six of the children were visiting the area affected and were swept away and killed.
Everyone at the club was greatly saddened by this news and we offered support and best wishes to our friends in Sierra Leone.
Among the ways we tried to help was by sending a number of kits from previous seasons for the school children to wear, and we were thrilled to receive a thank you message and pictures of the kits being used.
Peter Rhoades-Brown, Business Development Manager said:
“We have a great relationship with them and love to help by donating the kits, but this year was particularly poignant and I don’t mind admitting there were a few tears in the office when we saw the message they sent. The area has been hit so hard but football can do so much good and it is fantastic to see that Oxford United are playing a small part on helping people get their lives back to normal.”
If you would like to find out more about Goodwill and Growth for Africa UK visit http://www.gaga-uk.org/