Upbeats Day raises £27,000

All of the sponsorship money is now in from Charlton Upbeats Day, which took place last month.

A grand total of £27,213.85 has been raised in aid of the 4 Times Down’s Syndrome national champions.

This money was raised from sponsorship of The Upbeats Walk, which took place on the morning of April 16th.

200 people enjoyed a beautiful day walking through New Eltham, Eltham, Shooters Hill, Blackeath, Greenwich and Charlton to an excellent reception at The Valley.

The walk was led by Charlton Athletic legends Derek Hales, Mike Flanagan, Simon Webster, Bob Bolder, Carl Leaburn and Paul Mortimer.

The Upbeats then took on Albion in the Community on The Valley pitch before Charlton's 2-1 victory against Southend United.

Sponsorship from Charlton Life, the online fan forum reached over £8,800 boosted by auctions for shirts and other club memorabilia.

ITRM, sponsors of both the club and trust, also assisted on the day by providing volunteers who assisted along the walk dishing out refreshments and guiding the way.

Carl Krauhaus, Head of Early Help and Prevention at Charlton Athletic Community Trust said:

“I can’t thank the whole Charlton family enough for coming together to support the Upbeats once again on such a brilliant day.

So many different people helped to make the event so special. The club staff who sorted logistics, fans groups like Charlton Life, club sponsors like ITRM and Whitecode Design and the CACT staff who volunteered and spent their time co-ordinating it all.

A special mention should go to the legends who again turned out in force to support the project engaging brilliantly with the walkers as they made their way round the course.

The project costs around £25,000 to run each year so its immediate future is again secure due to the commitment and generosity of many.  I’m really pleased that we will be able to continue delivering The Upbeats project in South East London and Kent.

The lads will now start looking forward to playing in the George Best Cup in Northern Ireland next month and their defence of the national Downs syndrome championship in Birmingham, also in June”

Over 170 young people are registered with The Upbeats with 40 regular attendees every week. They also play in the Kent Adult Disability League and were successful in being league winners in their first season. The Upbeats are also 4 times, National Down’s syndrome champions and in July this year will be going for their 5th consecutive title.

The programme specialises in providing a progressive and safe environment for players of all ages to reach their full potential. It provides a clear pathway from young players who are learning the basic skills in the game up to senior competitive football.

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