Doing it for Lillie-Mai
Last updated at 20:04, Thursday, 21 June 2012
Lillie-Mai Jackson, the Maryport meningitis tot who has lost both her legs and an arm, will be the star at Workington’s crunch derby clash with rivals Whitehaven.
A specially commissioned strip in honour of the 20-month-old will be worn by the Town players for Sunday’s Championship One showdown.
Derwent Park expect a bumper crowd for the Times & Star sponsored match, which could see Town snatch top spot, and Lillie-Mai will be the guest of honour.
Workington have promised to do their all for the youngster, with chairman Dave Bowden suffering from the disease as a child.
He said: “I was one of the lucky ones diagnosed early.
“It is fantastic that as a club we can play our part alongside Lillie-Mai in helping others.”
The special purple and pink strip was designed by commercial manager Barry Scholey.
Lillie-Mai’s name adorns the back, and a miniature strip has been made for her, donated by kit suppliers O’Neills.
The strips will be signed by the team and auctioned off after the game.
Replica strips are available and can be ordered until the end of June.
Lillie-Mai is also mascot for the day, and her eight-year-old cousin Bethany Relph will carry her out on to the field.
There will be a bucket collection and Stuart McDougall, who is running a campaign to raise money for Lillie-Mai and to raise awareness about meningitis, will hand out leaflets.
Mr Scholey said the rugby club had been touched by Lillie-Mai’s story.
He added: “We raise money for national charities, but this is a local child and we wanted to support her.”
Derwent Park is dedicating the whole weekend to meningitis awareness and the Lillie-Mai trust.
Collections will also be taken at the Workington Comets speedway meeting with Glasgow tomorrow.
Matalan in Workington is helping to raise awareness, after Sarah Carter, its marketing champion, who also works at Workington Town, heard of the club’s efforts. They have already raised £600.
To buy replica shirts or bid on the players’ shirts call Barry Scholey on 07739461383 or email barry.scholey@townrlfc.co.uk before 11pm tomorrow.
First published at 19:21, Thursday, 21 June 2012
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
its lovely all this is done for little lillie-mai, would of been nice for lillie-mai's big sister bernadette to of carried her out, she never seems to get a mention poor little thing
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A very big well done to Workington Town for their community work in raising over £8,000 for this very worthy cause. This plus the Schools Olympics shows the community that they are club worthy of support. Absolutely brilliant.
Posted by Geordie on 25 June 2012 at 13:10