Referees ‘whistle up’ £2000 for local charities
Kind-hearted members of Renfrewshire Referees Association recently presented two local charities with a total of £2000 after a very successful Sportmans’ dinner. The referees association, which covers the Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde areas held the night to raise funds in support of The Special Care Baby Unit at the RAH, Paisley and Flexicare, an organisation that provides a support service for adults and children with learning disabilities and autistic spectrum disorders.
Former Celtic, West Ham United and Scotland striker Frank McAvennie and ex-referee and renowned after dinner speaker Kenny Clark entertained those in attendance which included a number of referees with family and friends, the charity representatives, local businesses and members of Renfrew Victoria Football Club.
Speaking after the event President of Renfrewshire Referees Association, Barry Cook, was delighted with the amount raised; “Everyone who was there had a great evening listening to the stories and anecdotes from Frank and Kenny and it was fantastic to be able to present the two charities with £1000 each. The generosity shown by everyone who came along was outstanding and my thanks go to our social committee, our charity officer and all our other members who assisted in the organisation of the night. It brings the total raised this year by Renfrewshire Referees for local charitable groups to almost £5000 which in the current financial climate is a great achievement.”
Margaret Rhoddan from Flexi-care commented; “My thanks to everyone at Renfrewshire Referees. We work hard to offer personalised support to enable people with a learning disability or ASD to participate fully in social, recreational and educational opportunities within their local community. The £1000 raised will go a long way to assist us in this.”
Patricia Friel, Ward Sister at the Special Care Baby Unit also stated; “We are grateful to all those involved and this donation will help us to ensure that we continue to have support available to local babies and their parents should they need us.”
