Richard House children's hospice has thanked West Ham United and supporters for their backing during last Saturday's home game with Chelsea.
The club dedicated the match to raising money and awareness for the east London hospice, which does so much for life-limited children and their families. Just under £8,000 was raised while the hospice has also reported increased interest in the work they do and widespread media exposure. Richard House is one of two official club charities this season - the other being the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research - and relies on volunteers and donations to keep on running.
Anton Ferdinand and Mark Noble have both led the club's support while Sir Trevor Brooking is a patron of the charity. Both players, along with Lucas Neill, took part in a special promotional video that was played on the big screens on Saturday. You can watch it now by going to WHUTV. All the players wore special T-shirts promoting the hospice on Saturday and, summing up their thoughts, Neill said: "It is a very worthy charity that is seriously lacking in funding and every penny will help."
Peter Ellis, Richard House CEO, said: "We are absolutely delighted by the support that West Ham United offered to Richard House by promoting our presence at the match last Saturday, 1st March. It was a very proud moment to see Richard House featured in such a prominent way throughout the game, which not only helped us to raise money for the hospice, but also raise our profile to 35,000 people.
"Richard House is committed to working in partnership with children and their families and also with those who want to support us. West Ham United have given support to Richard House over the years, but none so visible as the match last Saturday. West Ham United is located very close to the hospice, and we are therefore thrilled to continue to receive this ongoing support. We hope to see our partnership continue to grow. Thank you West Ham United, and thank you West Ham United supporters for your generosity on the day."
Fans were able to donate in a number of ways last weekend - such as giving money to bucket collectors, sending in £1 texts from their mobile phones or taking part in various raffles around the ground. Fans can continue to show their support online via the Richard House website. In doing so, they can also take part in a special West Ham United shield, tickets and signed shirt auction. Click here for more information on the auction as well as how you can make a donation.
You can make a donation by texting the word RICHARD to 82025.
(Each text will be charged at a rate of £1 of which Richard House will receive 56p or more dependent on your provider's network.)