Charley Longden, from High Peak, and three other students are hosting a charity raffle at Stalybridge Celtic Football Club, to help gather stock for the Tameside East Foodbank.

The group are setting up a stall, where fans can exchange tins of food for a raffle ticket, during the Stalybridge Celtic and Atherton Collieries match, taking place on the 22nd of April at Bower Fold. Prizes include a football signed by all of the players, goodies from the club shop, and various confectionery. The group are looking for long-lasting foods such as tinned goods, rice, and pasta, as well as toiletries and even pet food.

Charley, one of the organisers, says the event has taken meticulous planning, “We’ve been planning it for over a month now, there were a lot of things we had to sort out”.

He also highlighted the motivation behind organising the raffle, “Our goal is to bring the club, fans, and community together”. “In the current cost of living crisis there are lots of people that are struggling financially and seeking help, so we wanted to help them out”, he added.

When asked about why he chose this charity in particular, Charley said, “So many people have been affected by the crisis, with some having to make decisions on whether to heat their homes or buy food, so we thought it would be a really good charity to choose”.

Charley hopes the raffle can inspire others to organise similar charitable events, “It would be great if other people could take inspiration from what we are doing and put their own spin on it”.

For more information, you can visit the group’s social media pages: ‘FeedThroughFootball’ on Instagram and ‘@FTF2023’ on Twitter.

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