[Archived] Season Tickets For Charity

[roversmum]

It's a fairly new initiative, given that there are a lot of children in the situation of caring for their parents or family members as you say. Slightly off topic, there is stuff going on for adult Carers now as well, to be honest it's not before time as being a Carer is not an easy task. At least most football clubs allow Carers (or Personal Assistants as then are known) to attend free with the disabled person they are attending. However, even then there's the task of getting there and the fact that wheelchair users are seated pitchside where they are likely to catch any rain going (and we get a fair bit of that at Ewood!).

Very sadly for me, the granddaughter is a Leeds fan as she goes there with my daughter's partner - however she is always begging me to take her to Ewood with her sister(s)!

[sijoco]

Please keep this topic pinned, it keeps it in people's minds and is easier to update what is happening.

Just want echo those sentiments mum, it's really heart warming to read about how the kids enjoyed the games. Massive hats off to Hypo and everyone else who contributed, makes me proud to be a Rover.

[Neil Weaver]

In the absence of a Pompey match thread here's as good a place as any........

H-L who (along with Driftpeasant) did nearly all the legwork on these tickets is visiting these shores and will be at the game on Sunday. Folk who've been on ICBINF might have seen a thread. For anyone who hasn't and for any locals, he and the wife are in the Fernhurst for a couple of days and I get the feeling wouldn't mind being bought a pint if anyone off here wants to pop by.

From the sounds of things there's going to be a major logistical exercise on Sunday involving luggage, taxis, and traffic (with roversmum being a key component!) so that Mr and Mrs Hypo-Luxa get to a station before the last train! But before the game, he's keen to meet a few folk off here for a pint. I've suggested either the Ewood Arms or Aqueduct (given he's in the Fernhurst) but I know those get rammed on matchdays so any other hostelries recommended? I think he's at the Fernhurst on Sat night, so probably around Ewood on Sun lunchtime in which case getting to a pub for say, 1pm is probably do-able. So any recommendations?

[Tris]

In the absence of a Pompey match thread here's as good a place as any........

H-L who (along with Driftpeasant) did nearly all the legwork on these tickets is visiting these shores and will be at the game on Sunday. Folk who've been on ICBINF might have seen a thread. For anyone who hasn't and for any locals, he and the wife are in the Fernhurst for a couple of days and I get the feeling wouldn't mind being bought a pint if anyone off here wants to pop by.

From the sounds of things there's going to be a major logistical exercise on Sunday involving luggage, taxis, and traffic (with roversmum being a key component!) so that Mr and Mrs Hypo-Luxa get to a station before the last train! But before the game, he's keen to meet a few folk off here for a pint. I've suggested either the Ewood Arms or Aqueduct (given he's in the Fernhurst) but I know those get rammed on matchdays so any other hostelries recommended? I think he's at the Fernhurst on Sat night, so probably around Ewood on Sun lunchtime in which case getting to a pub for say, 1pm is probably do-able. So any recommendations?

I met Mr and Mrs Hypo-Luxa on Monday in London, and believe they have (as a result of the fantastic S-T initiative) been offered tickets for the Legends Lounge pre-match. However they fully intend to get down to a proper boozer beforehand, and mentioned they would be meeting up with you Neil.

I advised them that in order to fit everything in to a short space of time, they'd be best being as close to the ground as possible to minimise walking time / lost beer time. So I suggested that the Ewood Arms would be a better bet pre-match than the Aqueduct. I think they are due to link up with roversmum tomorrow.

[Hypo-Luxa]

Hello there!

I have finally found internet all the way up here in Lancaster! It looks as though the missus and I are getting shown around the park beforehand compliments of Rovers. Therefore a pre-match meet-up is probably out of the cards. We are also hiring a private car service to collect our bags and pick us up right out of the gates so we're good on that score as well.

I would've liked to have met up with everyone at the Ewood Arms, but I think our schedule has been made up for us.

So far I've really enjoyed my time in England and Blackburn is great as well.

I think we're off to Clitheroe now to see some of the Ribble Valley and see if we can spot a few witches!

Cheers everyone and I cannot wait until tomorrow's match...May it end on a MUCH better note than Thursday's match...

PS Neil I'll give you a ring later this evening...

[Hypo-Luxa]

Right! Back to the business at hand...

As I had said earlier the Women's Aid charity was to use the tickets for the Portsmouth match which they did and the kids had a wonderful time. The family that was able to see the match is in the early stages of recovering from a very nasty and public set of circumstances which has seen the offender, an abusive father/husband, jailed for a good long while. This visit was one of their first out in public and even though the result did not lend to having a good time, the kids had a blast. It's good to see kids who haven't had much to be happy about see a game where Rovers are almost played off the field and they still have a blast. And us fans who get to experience Rovers quite often get so tied up in the team's performance and cry in our lagers after the match. Makes for a little change of perspective. Made my day, at least, to see that these kids could see the game, and experience the atmosphere for what it really is, a great day out.

As for the next home match against Birmingham on October 7th, we are still looking for who might receive the tickets, but when it is decided I'll let everyone know.

Now, the fixtures are piling up and Cup Matches are coming at us fast and furious and I know some members who missed the original season tickets purchase have expressed interest in contributing. I think buying one or two Cup Match tickets would be a good outlet for this expressed interest. So the ones who have already expressed interest I will contact this week, and if anyone is interested who might not have contacted me yet please let me know and we'll see about getting some Cup tickets bought for usage with the charities.

Thanks again and hopefully we can right the ship and give these kids something to REALLY cheer about!

[Lee]

Double page spread in the programme tonight.

[Hypo-Luxa]

Double page spread in the programme tonight.

very cool! If anyone has the gumption after the match to post what is said that would be great! The PR guy said he was going to send a few over by mail, but I'm a wee bit impatient to see what he wrote.

hopefully the missus doesn't look too terrified in the picture. she really didn't want to take a picture and when she was dragged out there she must have looked like a deer in headlights!

[roversmum]

Have uploaded copy of picture to gallery. Lynsey says you will get a copy of the magazine.

[Cocker]

Have uploaded copy of picture to gallery. Lynsey says you will get a copy of the magazine.

And a good picture it is too. One for the frame me thinks

[Hypo-Luxa]

Thanks to a few boardmembers (roversmum and cn174) I've been able to read the article and see the picture. I guess I could've smiled a bit while in the presence of not only Zurab but standing on the bloomin' Rovers logo on the touchline! Ah well, I was a wee bit unsure of exactly what was going on. As I mentioned before I expected if a picture was to be taken it would be taken in some small media room under the stands...

I just hope this article raises some awareness for the drive for the future seasons within the foreign fans who might not visit this messageboard and maybe even the corporate community of Blackburn. That would be great, wouldn't it?

Two things that annoyed me about the piece, though, although I know it wasn't intentionally done...

1) The writer didn't mention that there were some local lads who contributed, which I had hoped he would make light of. This was such a pleasant surprise to me when the locals started expressing interest and I had hoped he would've mentioned something of the sort.

2) When the writer details why I started supporting Rovers it makes me out to be a glory-hunter!! I know I picked the right season to follow Rovers and all, but I chose them as 'My Team' BEFORE they won the Title, not AFTER. Ah well, I guess technically I am a gloryhunter, but I don't care, I'm a Rover 'til I die!

Well it is a flattering piece, but all in all, I hope it raises awareness for the Initiative and hope that for next year we can not only meet this year's amount but perhaps surpass it by a few tickets for next year.

[Hypo-Luxa]

Good tidings ladies and gents! I wanted to let you all know of the last home game's attendees who were able to see the match from the comfort of a nicely filled BBE Upper. The group was from Young Carers as mentioned before. They have been able to not only take some photos but are sending them to me as we speak! Hopefully it will be alright to upload these photos into the gallery and when this is done I'll link everyone. I haven't officially heard from the group but I believe they had a swell time.

The next home game seems an eternity from now, but against Reading it looks as though we'll be able to send some lads and lasses from the Blackburn and Darwen Social Services that live in the homes. I'm not sure yet whether there will need to be one adult for every child, but hopefully they're well-behaved enough to only need 2 adults for supervision. We shall see.

As an update for the happenings behind the scenes, Chase(Driftpeasant) and I are going to take that next step and get this registered as a charitable organization. It will cost a few bob getting that done, but we feel it's a necessity especially if we want to start getting local corporations involved. Plus for any fans who might not frequent this board donating to an actual registered organization is more of a safe bet then sending money to some blokes from Texas.

Also, Chase looks to be able to get a good deal on hosting a website so that will shouldn't be an issue. I'm going to want to get a web-site created sooner than later so that we can not only get this advertised on any foreign Rover Supporter groups but also start collecting for the second half of this year and for next year as well. It's taking awhile since I'm not too savvy on that front, but I'm plugging along!

Anyway, I'll post the pictures and reaction of the kids as soon as I get them!

[Hypo-Luxa]

Below is the e-mail I received from the person who organized the Young Carers trip to Ewood last weekend.

My name is Karen Walker and I am the Young Carers project coordinator. Thankyou very much for the Rovers tickets, our family that went really enjoyed themselves, and it was even better when Rovers won!!!!

The family did take their camera although for some unknown reason they could not get it to work on the day so very sorry that on this occasion we do not have any pictures.

Again many many thanks as your generosity does make a difference to our young carers and their families.

So there you have it. No photo's to be had. That really bums me out, but what can you do? But the more important matter is that the kid's had a great time. As stated previously the next group to make use of the tickets are the kids from the Blackburn and Darwen Social Services.

On the photo front, is there anyone on this board who sits in the BBE Upper? If so I wonder if they could snap a quick picture of the pitch during a match so we can see what it looks like for the kids that are sitting there.

Sorry I couldn't bring any photo's with this update but we'll try for next time!

[cn174]

Before the Arsenal game from my seat in the Blackburn End upper

[Hypo-Luxa]

Wow I was put to sleep by the Int'l break and didn't even update after the Reading match!

Not much to report, really. Wendy, the charity contact has been on a small holiday and been busy catching up from said holiday upon her return so haven't had a lot of contact with her the past week. I am happy to report that the kids from the Blackburn and Darwen Social Sevrices had a grand time. The message from the Social Worker was a bit cryptic but it sounds as if the 4 junior tickets were indeed used for kids and one didn't have to be converted to an adult.

The next group to attend the game is still up in the air. I know it will be a tense affair against the kopites and the house will be packed so whoever gets to see the match will at least be treated to a cracking atmosphere.

I wanted to also ask if anyone had any suggestions for charities. I think Wendy has them all covered, but if anyone has one that helps children and is near and dear to their hearts, maybe we can establish contact with Wendy and see what could be done. Just a thought.

Ok everyone, no looking forward to the weekend, we have a mid-week match y'know! But I'll update the group who will be receiving the tickets for Liverpool match when I get the details.

[Hypo-Luxa]

Another home game in the books and the tickets were used for the mentor program who also used these for the Man City game back in September. This was sent by a project coordinator of the Action Mentors group:

I would like to thank you again for your kind donation of the rover’s tickets

My project has enjoyed these twice now and the kids have a wonderful time even though it was a o – o draw one young lads feedback was “a least we didn’t get stuffed”!

So thanks again and I hope you realize what a difference your donation has made to these young people.

I guess the optimsm hasn't spread to everyone just yet! Ah well it's good to see that the kids had a good time. The atmosphere was outstanding (at least from what I could tell from the broadcast) and I would imagine that for a first time, this would have been quite the thrill.

As for next home game, we have quite awhile. I'll see who gets the tickets and update when I do find out. Thank you to all who sent a note for suggested charities. I will be in contact with Wendy to see if she has or can get a conact within these groups to maybe open up a dialogue and get some tickets their way.

I also wanted to pass along that since we have a Cup game at home (Dec 18th against Arsenal) we have a chance to get some kids into an additional match. I will be getting in contact with the people who expressed interest after the season tickets were purchased to see if interest is still there to purchase some Cup tickets. Also the FA Cup will start soon (When is the draw for Rovers' first round anyway? In December?) so if interest is still there we can purchase a few of those tickets as well.

As always thanks for the positive feedback and the suggestions and hopefully we can go into the stretch of three home games on a winning streak!

[only2garners]

Also the FA Cup will start soon (When is the draw for Rovers' first round anyway? In December?) so if interest is still there we can purchase a few of those tickets as well.

Rovers come in on the Third round proper. Draw for this will be on Monday 3rd December after the second round. Matches will be on weekend of 5th/6th January.

[Hypo-Luxa]

Five Home games since we've had a win! That last home game against Liverpool was a nil-nil draw so not a lot of excitement for the kids who were able to see the match. Tomorrow, however, we have the Blackburn and Darwen Social Services group going, which is the same group as had gone to the Reading match and saw 6 goals! Hopefully this group of kids will be able to see the same sort of excitement AND a win for Rovers. And if this game ends in a 4-2 line or something similar we might just have to make sure these kids go to EVERY match!

The Carling Cup match against Arsenal is fast approaching and I believe we have enough interested parties to purchase another set of tickets so that'll be a great early Christmas present for some children around Blackburn. I'll be getting into contact with the people who expressed interest and if we need a few extra quid to flesh out a similar count of tickets (2 adults, 4 children) I'll come on here and pass the hat. And we also have the FA Cup draw to look forward to. Hopefully it'll be a Home game so we will have the opportunity to purchase yet more tickets.

I'll try and be prompt in giving an update after the Villa game. To be sure the social worker sends her feedback in short messages as if she's charged by the word or if she's dictating from a semaphore, so I don't know if I will get anything of substance. But if Rovers can give out a win I'm sure the kids will have a grand time.

At any rate I do hope everyone is having a great holiday season so far and talk to you soon!

[Hypo-Luxa]

Well as I supposed, I haven't heard from either group after the Villa and Newcastle matches. Wendy, our charity contact, who also gets the short terse mentions from the Social services contact (so it isn't just me then!), did let me know that the last time she was at their office they did mention how special these tickets were proving to be for their kids as they don't ever get to go to Ewood.

As for the upcoming WHammers match the tickets are actually going to go to a family who has helped the local charities on a huge scale even when their means do not always allow. Because of the selfless giving, they never get to go to the games and such. This head of the family won the volunteer of the year award a few years back for all of his hard work. Now I know this is a little bit of a departure from what we're doing of sending kids from established charities but as this is a one-off, I figured it would be good to award this man's family with a trip to Ewood. As Wendy says it, his two boys are Rovers mad, but have no way to make the trip. At any rate I know this may not sit well with the other donors and I didn't want to make a decision on the part of the donors but it kind of crept up on me and I made a quick decision.

So the Arsenal cup clash is a go! I have PM'ed two of the people who I could remember off-hand who wanted to donate, but I believe there are a few out there who expressed a desire that I might have forgotten. So, if you haven't received a PM and would like to donate please let me know and I'll forward on the details for the PayPal account and such. I would like to purchase the tickets by next Friday in order to give the ticket office ample time to process the tickets and then in turn give them over to Wendy.

I am sorry for the brief and slap-dash message but things are hectic over here!

[Hypo-Luxa]

Ok everyone, tomorrow's match is on for our first Cup tickets for the kid's! We had to purchase three adult and three junior tickets so as to get the Mentor group a chance to go to the match. The mentors seemed a better fit as for the smaller kids a mid-week evening match might have knackered them for the next day. Thanks to a new donor who donated the lion's share of the tickets. I covered the rest and because of a miscommunication bought two more than was originally planned. Thankfully these were Cup ticket prices and not regular prices or else I might not have been able to make up the difference :!:

Still looking at doing something for the Coventry match so if anyone thinks they would like to donate for this let me know. Kids for a quid will allow for a fair few tickets to be purchased if anyone wants to donate.

The Chelsea match tickets are going to the Women's Aid charity. It will be an early Christmas present in a time when the holidays have to be a tough time for fractured families.

Thanks to those who donated for the Arsenal match and Happy Holidays everyone!

[Hypo-Luxa]

Well that Coventry match was...umm..quite horrible. In retrospect it's probably a good thing we didn't get any kids in for that match. More depressing is the fact that there won't be anymore Cup games to have the opportunity to send some kiddoes to. I guess it just proves the point that there's no sense in waiting around because you never know when the opportunites will dry up.

So, for the cold and windy match against Sunderland where we eked out a win, we saw the lads and lasses of Youth Works in Darwen get the seats. They were treated to such a dire match and I don't know if they've thawed out yet, but they did write before hand to give thanks for the tickets.

Also, after the West Ham match (and I know this is going in a reverse chronological order...sorry!) a lad who went with his father and brother wrote to Wendy (our charity liaison) this note:

Dear Wendy

I'm writing to you to tell you how grateful I am of you giving us

tickets for the Rovers v West Ham Game. The thing I am most grateful

for is that you gave us 6 tickets which meant that my Brother could sit

with one of his best friends, I could sit next to one of my best

friends....

Despite the fact that we lost by one goal to nil Rovers v West Ham

was the best football match I've ever been to and I'd just like to say

thank-you.

Joseph aged 10

So there you have it a chance to reward a family who helps the area in any way that they can, even when they sacrifice a bit themselves to do so. As little Joseph said, the scoreline didn't go the right way, but they had a good day out and that's all that matters.

Right so next Home Game is 'Boro a few weeks from now and I don't know who is getting the tickets just yet. Seems as though we've got a good rotation, though between the Women's Aid, Mentor group, Social Services and Youth Works, so my money'd be on the Social Services of Darwen and Blackburn. I'll update, though, when I find out.

An update on the web-site..it's coming along and we should be able to unveil it to the general public before long. It will have a link to donate located right on the page to make it easier. Since there are no Cups and if you did want to donate for next season you can definitely do so. I will probably be putting a little dosh aside myself now while I have it because you never know what's going to crop up between now and the summer.

At any rate on to the Breezeblock and hopefully we can return home on the 19th with another League win under our belts!

[92er]

I have an idea that the tickets against Boro are reduced-maybe kids tickets are particularly cheap; it's maybe worth checking on the Rovers website and maybe you could arrange for more kids to go than normal?

[Hypo-Luxa]

Everton! Everton! Everton are the club to follow! There's nobody better than Mikkel Arteta, he's the best little Spaniard we know!

We'll be sure to hear that song more than once come Saturday. And who will it be that will get serenaded by that ditty? Why the Youth Works of Blackburn and Darwen. The same group who was ecstatic to see the Sunderland match (that was before they saw the weather report) now get to see a tight match against Everton, a team I believe mirrors our own.

And a new charity has been brought into the fold for the Bolton match February 23rd. The Police Support Officers association has offered to take some at risk kids to a game. Not only is this a new organization, but it's also one where we could perhaps get a few piccie's snapped. That would be great if this could happen. Wendy has also gotten a few requests from other charities as these tickets are proving quite popular.

On a side note we have had our first Company inquire about donating some tickets. I cannot disclose who this might be just yet, but it would be one everyone would know. I don't mean to be a tease like our good friend nicko but once I get a confirmation I will let everyone know on here. The snag is whether or not the tickets would/could be written off as donations since we are not a registered/licensed charity. I know that's how it is here in the States but I don't know how it is in the UK.

Anyway, be sure to read the other thread pinned and please vote if you haven't already. This thread will help immensely going forward.

Thanks everyone and talk to you all soon!

[Hypo-Luxa]

Ok to update everyone on who the company is that will be donating 6 extra tickets per home game from here until the end of the season is none other than our very own Bet24! Good on them for donating these and it just goes to show that they are more than just a shirt sponsor.

Because the Everton match is just right around the corner, all 12 tickets will go to the Blackburn and Darwen Youth Works. Futre tickets might be split up between a few different groups, but we shall see. It might prove too difficult logitics-wise to get these tickets to too many different groups.

A dozen tickets now for kids from the area. Pretty exciting stuff!

[Hypo-Luxa]

As I said before the Everton match, the charity that will receive the Bolton match tickets will be the Police Support Officers who will be taking a load of kids to the game. Now since there are an additional 6 tickets I don't know if one PCSO can chaperone 11 kids, but if these tickets are going to be split, I'll update everyone where they do go to. And of course if PCSO Baldwin (Those Baldwins are EVERYwhere! ) will be bringing in back-up I'll let you all know that as well.

As for the Everton match, we not only received thanks from the Social Worker with the Blackburn and Darwen Social Works but we also received a few pictures! I've tried to upload them into the gallery but I can't seem to work it right. So if anyone knows how let me know their e-mail address and I'll send them the pic's.

Anyway, on to Arsenal and hopefully we can get out of there with at least a point.