We have been bowled over (or should that be footballed over) at the fundraising idea from Pathways parent Tony. Pre-season, Tony bought a lovely little multi- coloured teddy bear and asked our families to choose the name; the name Rainbow the Bear was chosen.
Rainbow’s mission is to visit as many Northern Non-League football clubs as possible during the 2022/23 season with a donation bucket in tow. Rainbow Bears adventures started at Birtley Football Club (in the Northern Football League) at the beginning of July, watching their first match of the season and even attending the Birtley Town Wildcats’ annual fun day! The generosity of the Birtley Town supporters got the fundraising drive underway, kindly raising £136 for our charity during Rainbow Bear’s stay.
But this was only the beginning… Rainbow has now visited the following football clubs
And the list of clubs visited just keeps getting longer. Rainbow is certainly becoming a very well-travelled little fundraising bear, having covered over 1300 miles already and the season is only halfway through. Even more impressive, is this little bear has also collected over £1200 so far… and the donations keep coming in.
We would like to thank each and every one of the football clubs that have hosted the bear and collected donations on our behalf. We’d like to extend our thanks to the kind players, backroom staff and supporters for their generosity and sportsmanship. A special mention and big THANK YOU must also be given to Leek Town Football Club. Leek Town were unable to host the bear (following their match with Atherton Collieries), however, the club generously made a donation of £150 towards the fundraiser.
This wonderful fundraising achievement would not have been possible without the initial idea and ongoing coordination from Tony. Tony decided to fundraise for our charity because the Tim Lamb Centre is one of his daughter’s favourite places. 4 year old Eva is autistic and is a frequent visitor to our centre with her parents and older siblings. Eva really enjoys the slides, especially outside. For Tony and Maria, they have peace of mind that the Tim Lamb Centre is safe and secure, so Eva can play freely alongside her siblings.
Before coming up with this brilliant idea, the Gateshead-based family had already participated in other fundraising events on our behalf. In April, Tony took part in the North Tyneside 10K Road Race a warm-up for his fantastic efforts in the Great North Run. Whilst his partner Maria, (Eva’s mum), was part of ‘Team Pathways’ who took part in the Newcastle Colour Obstacle Rush in June.
We would like to take this opportunity to say a huge THANK YOU to Tony and Maria for your ongoing efforts to support our charity and we look forward to seeing you at the Tim Lamb Centre again very soon.
We look forward to finding out which football club Rainbow is going to visit next and we eagerly await more photos of the bear’s adventures. If you would like to follow Rainbow Bears Adventures, check out the dedicated Facebook and Twitter accounts. If you would like to show your support for this fantastic fundraiser, please consider making a donation to our charity via Rainbow the Bear’s Fundraising Page. Your support can make a real difference to the lives of hundreds of North East disabled children. Thank you.
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