Preston North End once again showed its charitable side by presenting St Catherine’s Hospice with a cheque for over £8,700 at their last home game against Stevenage.
The money was raised through sales of the Club’s 2012/13 limited edition fuchsia football shirt, which was popular among North End fans due to its charitable cause.
St Catherine's is now feeling tickled pink after receiving £5 of each sale of the strip, which was available for a limited time only.
The cheque, which totalled a massive £8,715, was presented on the pitch at half time of the Lilywhites’ 3-0 win over the Boro.
The Chorley-based hospice provides specialised palliative care for people with conditions that can be treated, but not cured - such as cancer, heart failure, motor neurone disease and Parkinson’s disease.
The care is offered free of charge and is unique to each individual’s needs, made possible via their in-patient unit, day therapy unit and team of Clinical Nurse Specialists who work in the community offering care in people’s own homes.
It costs around £5m to run the hospice each year, meaning a donation like the one North End has made will go a long way in helping them reach that figure.
Lorraine Charlesworth, Director of Income Generation at St Catherine’s Hospice, said: “We are thrilled with the amount of money raised through our partnership with Preston North End and so pleased the bright-pink shirts went down so well with fans.
“We hope they will continue to enjoy wearing the tops for many seasons to come – knowing that through buying one they have also helped fund vital care for people and their families facing extremely difficult times.
“We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who bought a shirt, and also to PNE for their continued support – whilst wishing the club and its fans all the very best in the new season.”
A spokesperson from PNE said: “We are delighted to be able to hand over a cheque of such significance to such a wonderful charity.
“Our supporters’ reaction to the shirt and the fact they were making a donation to such a worthwhile cause was phenomenal.
“The money needed to allow the Hospice to continue to provide its fantastic level of care is huge and we hope that this effort from fans gives a little further towards the constant fundraising efforts that go on at St Catherine’s.”