Bolton Wanderers Football Club are pleased to announce their charity partners for the remainder of the 2019/20 season.
With the season of goodwill upon us, we are delighted in being able to highlight the crucial work each of the charities undertake as they look to support the communities they represent.
Next week, players and coaching staff will also be visiting the children’s ward at the Royal Bolton Hospital, Bolton Hospice, Derian Hospice and Urban Outreach, a charity that supports so many in Bolton who live on the margins, to distribute Christmas gifts.
Christmas is a time of giving and here at Bolton Wanderers we are playing our part with our players going out to distribute gifts in the hospital and hospice as well as linking up with Urban Outreach, a charity that supports so many in our town who live on the margins.
The charities, Bolton Wanderers and the Bolton Wanderers Community Trust will be supporting are:
Dementia UK (national nominated charity).
Dementia can rob a person of their memory, health, personality and ability to communicate. The toll on family members can be catastrophic, watching their loved one deteriorate.
Without support, dementia can pull a family apart – mentally, emotionally and physically. Dementia UK’s purpose is providing emotional, clinical and practical support to help families live more positively with dementia. Dementia UK’s specialist dementia nurses - called Admiral Nurses - work with families from pre-diagnosis to bereavement and beyond, especially at times of crisis.
Octagon Theatre Trust (local nominated charity).
The Octagon fundamentally believes that everybody should have access to the arts, with no exceptions, and they want the people of Bolton to consider the Octagon a ‘home’ providing safe, creative spaces to meet, learn, socialise and be entertained’. Their work with local communities is at the heart of everything they do with activity including British Sign Language, captioned, dementia-friendly and relaxed performances. Their Creative Engagement Team provides over 11,000 participations annually and delivers weekly groups for all ages and backgrounds including those with learning difficulties, refugee and asylum seekers, vulnerable and disadvantaged young people, and older people at risk of social isolation.”
Community Care Options, Bolton Carers Support and Marie Curie Bolton (three associate charities).
Community Care Options have been supporting people with disabilities and mental health problems in Bolton since 1991. They support people at home and for community activities. They also run Bolton Shopmobility and provide clinical expertise and counselling. Their mission is to promote inclusion, empowerment, good physical and mental health and fulfilling lives for people with disabilities.
Bolton Carers Support works with carers aged 18 and over, identifying hidden carers and providing information on local services, as well as offering a listening ear and emotional support, opportunities for a short break, courses on a range of topics and benefits advice to help carers maximise their income. According to NHS England, “A carer is anyone, including children and adults who looks after a family member, partner or friend who needs help because of their illness, frailty, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction and cannot cope without their support. The care they give is unpaid.” The carers with whom they have contact look after people presenting a range of challenging illnesses or circumstances. They currently have 4,770 carers registered on their database but know there are over 30,000 carers in Bolton.
Marie Curie believe that the last days of your life are just as important as the first. If you’re living with a terminal illness, getting the right care in those days can make all the difference. Marie Curie’s nursing service in Bolton often goes unnoticed as their care happens behind closed doors, in the comfort of people’s homes. The nurses work round the clock providing care and support to dying people in the borough who need specialist end of life care. An average night shift of one of their nurses lasts for nine hours, costing just £180. Such a small amount provides light at the darkest of times for carers and family members who need rest. In 2018/19 Marie Curie nurses provided 13,231 hours in Bolton alone, caring for 165 patients.
Club Chaplain and Head of Community Trust, Phil Mason, said: “In this season of goodwill we are delighted to announce our charity partners for the season. We shall work with these charities to promote the great work they do, partner with them in the work of our own charity, the Community Trust and look to help them raise money on designated match days throughout the rest of the season.”
For more information about each charity and how you can support the work of the Bolton Wanderers Community Trust, please visit their website by clicking here.