How Scottish football clubs provide support to local foodbanks and charities

Amid the hustle and bustle approaching Christmas time, it is very important to remember those less fortunate, and Scottish football clubs continue to provide outstanding support to charities and foodbanks in their local communities.

Due to the platform available to them, football clubs are in a unique position to try and influence positive change and support those most vulnerable in our society.

The generosity of football fans over the festive period shone through once more when Celtic’s charitable Foundation ‘North Curve’ raised over £23,500 after holding their annual foodbank and toy drive collections outside Parkhead last weekend.

Over £17,500 in cash donations were received during the foodbank fundraiser, which is being distributed across Scotland, while a fantastic nine vans full of food and drink has been sent out across Glasgow and the West.

During the club’s toy drive collection, over £6000 was received in cash donations, which is to be split evenly across three separate charities; Brightest Star, .... With Kids and the Glasgow Children’s Hospital.

A statement released by North Curve Celtic (@NCCeltic) on Twitter said: “Big thank you to all who donated to the food drive on Sunday.

“This enormous act of solidarity and generosity from the Celtic support will help those most in need this Christmas.

“Thank you to all of our members who helped facilitate our toy drive and to all fans who contributed.”

The Brightest Star charity responded with a heartfelt message on their Facebook page, which stated: “People really do make Glasgow.

“Football fans often get negative publicity but who recognises their generosity and the charity work that they do?

“From early this morning until 3pm, in the cold and rain, men and women, boys and girls of the North Curve stood outside Celtic Football Club collecting Christmas presents from fans to donate to Brightest Star.

“No child should wake up on Christmas morning with no presents to open. It doesn’t bear thinking about but sadly that’s the reality for many families.

“Some of our families lost their jobs due to looking after their sick child or being unable to cope after their death. The household bills don’t stop once your child dies, you then had added costs like funeral expenses.

“Due to the North Curve for organising this and due to the football supporters for their donations, we will be able to help these families and hundreds more.”

Motherwell are also heavily involved in serving the Lanarkshire community and often coordinate regular support for local foodbanks. They have had some incredible success across the last few years.

The Steelmen recently joined together with Celtic to raise money for the Lanarkshire Community Food Partnership in October.

A statement released by chief executive Alan Burrows said: “It’s extremely important to us that we play an active role with our supporters, our neighbours and the larger Lanarkshire community and a big part of that is understanding what the important issues are that they face daily.

“Clearly, poverty and the growing gap between the rich and poor is a hugely significant problem across the UK, but it’s very keenly felt locally.

“4821 children in the Motherwell and Wishaw area live in poverty at the moment – that’s 27.7 per cent of our kids. It’s unacceptable and as a club, we want to try and help do something to reverse those awful statistics.

“It’s a huge testament to our supporters and the mindset and the spirit of the people of this area that they back us so enthusiastically every time we ask them to help stock up foodbanks across Lanarkshire, particularly going into the busy winter where people are often faced with the horrific choice between heating their homes and feeding their family.”

Meanwhile, Rangers and Hearts fans raised over £24,000 for MND Scotland last Sunday as both clubs joined together to help fundraise at Tynecastle.

The Premiership duo have been impacted by the debilitating condition in recent years, with the Motor Neurone Disease charity held close to their hearts.

Former Jambos captain Marius Zaliukas, who also played for the Light Blues during the 2014/15 season, passed away in October last year while Fernando Ricksen sadly died in September 2019.

Both sets of supporters teamed up to raise money during sell-out match last weekend, while the players warmed up prior to kick-off with the charity logo printed on the front of their shirts.

The names of Zaliukas and Ricksen plus their squad numbers of 26 and 2 respectively were also included on the special shirts.

The total sum raised from ‘MND Scotland Day’ reached £24,245.72.