On Tuesday 27th March I had the privilege of going down to Wembley Stadium to watch England vs. Italy. This wasn't just for me to try and estimate England's chances in the upcoming World Cup, (quarter-finals, if I were a betting man) but was to be part of a great evening where we were able to grant 2 Sporting Wishes as well as giving our ProKick Prize Winner her prize!
Picked from the thousands of children that have taken part in our ProKick Schools Challenge this school year, Tilly was able to be one of the flag bearers for the game. Our Charity Director, Junior, went to Jeavons Wood Primary School to give a special assembly announcing the prize and causing mass excitement, not only for Tilly and her family, but for the whole school, who I'm sure will have all watched the game and picked her out on TV!
Tilly was accompanied by her mum Alison, dad Ivan, and her best friend Indy who was just as excited as Tilly before the game!
"Thankyou SO much for giving her and us this experience, we had the most Amazing time and will never forget it” - Alison
Lewis Brooke lives with his mum Debbie, dad Tom and little brother Bobby. 12 years old and a football fanatic, Lewis was also lucky enough to be a flag bearer at the game having recovered from 3 years worth of treatment for Leukaemia at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton. Our Sporting Wish coordinator Jane and myself drove down to Gillingham to pick the family up and we had a great journey down, playing number plate games and talking about all of Lewis' favourite teams and players.
As well as being a flag bearer, Lewis also managed to sneak on to your TV's as you can see from the picture below!
"It was great, I got a high five from Buffon!" - Lewis
Mehro is a 16 year old girl from Peterborough. She has recently been discharged from Addenbrookes Hospital but still requires daily medication and physiotherapy to manage her cystic fibrosis. We were able to bring her down to the stadium with her family to watch the game in the comfort of the Club Wembley seats!
Mehro was driven down to the stadium by our Charity Champion Lee Clarke, bringing along her brother Ubaybullah, dad Adil and her uncle, all of whom were very excited about watching the game.
Regardless of the end result, 1-1 for those that don't know, it was a fantastic evening and a real pleasure meeting all the families. To be in the position of being able to give these children lasting memories really is an honour and I'd like to offer a massive thank you to everyone that makes this possible!
Keep an eye out for more news from us in the coming weeks, including some more up and coming Sporting Wishes for some more very deserving children!