Wolves Former Players Association (FPA) has continued its support of local charities by making a £1,000 donation to palliative and end of life care charity, Compton Care.
FPA Chairman and the club’s former striker John Richards, and FPA Administration Manager Richard Green, visited the much-loved Wolverhampton charity to present the cheque and meet staff and patients, including several Wolves fans who were keen to chat about all things Molineux.
“Compton Care is a charity that means so much to so many people for the incredible work that it does,” says Richards.
“I know it is a charity that is close to the heart of the people of Wolverhampton, and indeed a lot of Wolves players and staff down the years as well.
“The FPA is always keen to support Compton Care when we can, and it was a privilege to be able to visit and not only present the cheque but have plenty of conversation with the patients about Wolves past and present – we certainly put the world to rights!”
The donation from the FPA will be put towards the purchase of a syringe driver, a small pump that is used to deliver medication directly into the body through an intravenous needle.
It is a device that makes patients comfortable but also allows them to live independent lives as they can be mobile while receiving medication and not have to check in with a doctor or be disturbed if they are sleeping.
Richards and Green were welcomed to Compton Care by trustee and vice-chairman Jim McKinnon, and Relationship Manager Kate Kelly.
McKinnon added: “We are always delighted to welcome members of the Wolves Former Players Association to Compton Care. Their generous, continued support is wonderful.
“A quote from the day from one of our volunteers, which will stay with me, was ‘this visit is better than any pill the patients could have taken today’. This is testament to the impact meeting an idol or hero can make. We hope to organise more regular visits, moving forward.”
In recent months the FPA have made donations from the proceeds of their Annual Golf Day to several different charities, including the Good Shepherd, the Birch Thompson Memorial Fund and the Crafty Gardener, with a couple more in the pipeline.
“It remains a really important part of what we do as a Former Players Association, that when we raise money at events like the golf day, we can then support charities and community groups who are such an integral part of the local area,” added Green.
“What is also really nice is that we can build up great relationships with these charities so we can ask them how we can support them or what they need, and so the former players and the people who attend our events know exactly where the funds are being distributed.
“For all of us, it is really humbling when we visit the charities and see the fantastic work they are doing, and to be able to make even just a small difference as an FPA is something which we are extremely proud of.”
- Compton Care exists to support people living with incurable illnesses and their families living in Wolverhampton, the Black Country, South Staffordshire and East Shropshire. To find out more about Compton Care, visit www.comptoncare.org.uk or call 0300 323 0250.
