Cherries donation to local hospices

The new season may be just under two months away but AFC Bournemouth recorded another great result this week as they donated almost £8,000 to three local hospices.

The Cherries have been working with Lewis-Manning, Julia`s House and Forest Holme as part of The Football League`s partnership with the Help the Hospices charity, and raised £7,788 over the last 12 months.

The club hosted a family day at Dean Court in February in aid of the cause, with a percentage of family tickets going straight to the hospices, while proceeds from a golf day and shirt auctions also added to the total.

The club was delighted to work with the hospices, and several members of the squad and coaching team took time out of their busy schedules to visit the staff and patients at each of the hospices over the course of the season.

AFC Bournemouth commercial director Rob Mitchell said, "It`s been a real pleasure to work with each of the hospices this season and hopefully the money can be put to good use.

"Our partnership with Julia`s House, Lewis-Manning and Forest Holme was always in our plans and we were delighted to be able to incorporate them into some of our on and off the field events."

David Praill, chief executive of Help the Hospices, said, "Football fans and hospice supporters alike are deeply passionate and loyal towards their local communities, so there has been a tremendous amount of goodwill behind our partnership with The Football League and this has allowed us to tell millions of people about hospice care."

The Cherries will work with the Prostate Cancer Charity next season after they were announced as The Football League charity partners for the upcoming season. The men`s health charity was chosen from a shortlist of six worthy causes by more than 65,000 supporters.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer amongst men in the UK and over a quarter of a million men are currently affected by the disease.

Mitchell added, "The Prostate Cancer Charity is another fantastic organisation and we look forward to doing everything we can to support them next season.

"It will be just as important to raise awareness as it will be to raise money, and as we host the key demographic every Saturday afternoon we are the perfect organisation to do this."

For more information on the Prostate Cancer Charity visit www.prostate-cancer.org.uk.

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