Sam Hain and Craig Miles took time to visit youngsters at Acorns Children’s Hospice – and handed over a cheque for almost £6,000 thanks to the generosity of Bears’ lead Vitality Blast sponsor Talbots Law.
The Midlands-based law firm nominated Acorns as its charity partner for Vitality Blast derby against Worcestershire Rapids to help raise funds for its three regional hospices.
More than 30 Acorns volunteers helped with bucket collections, fans were encouraged to make £5 or £10 text donations, and the Club held raffles in hospitality areas with prizes including tickets for Blast Finals Day.
The fundraising efforts raised a total of £5,896 for Acorns hospices in Birmingham, Walsall and Worcester which provide specialist palliative care for life limited and life threatened children and support to their families.
Abi Coulson, Acorns Senior Partnership Fundraising Manager, said: “What an incredible show of support…an amazing amount raised! Huge thanks to Talbots Law for donating the game to Acorns and special thanks to the Bears and all their fans for really getting behind their local children’s hospice and taking us into their hearts.
“All the money raised will go directly to helping children like Sophia, who had the best time taking Craig and Sam on a tour of our hospice in Worcester. It was great to be able to show them how funds raised during events like their Rapids derby make a such difference for local families.
“We need £27,000 every day to provide our lifeline care and support and we rely on donations and money raised by the community and local businesses for the bulk of this amount. So we really can’t thank Talbots and the Bears enough.”
Sam and Craig spent time at Acorns Worcester hospice playing with seven-year-old Sophia – who acted as their enthusiastic tour guide – before speaking to staff to learn more about the charity’s work.
“It’s an amazing centre,” said Bears leading Blast run scorer Hain. “It’s a lovely place for the children to stay and play, plus it means families can enjoy respite from caring responsibilities knowing their children are being well looked after.
“Obviously I was disappointed to miss the Rapids game but I wanted to play a part and visit Acorns along with Craig. We’ve enjoyed looking around with Sophia, she’s a real whirlwind of energy, and playing a bit of cricket with her.”
In the past year, Acorns has cared for more than 700 children and almost 1,000 families, including those who are bereaved.
Dave Hodgetts, CEO of Talbots Law, said: “We were delighted to donate our match sponsorship of the Birmingham-Worcestershire derby to such a worthy cause and equally excited to see the charity use the platform to raise such a fantastic amount.
“We’ve been privileged to see the invaluable work of Acorns Children’s Hospice first-hand, and will continue to do everything we can to support the charity so that they can be there for families in their hour of need.”
People can still donate by texting ACORN5 or ACORN10 to 70025. To find out more about Acorns, please visit: acorns.org.uk.
£15 tickets for home quarter-final
Bears have secured a home Vitality Blast quarter-final which will be on Thursday 6 July, with adult tickets only £15.
Tickets ware available online at tickets.edgbaston.com or on the day via the Ticket Office. Members and Season Pass holders can attend for free by scanning their card at the gate.
