Tis the season... and Clan’s giving is second to none
It’s important for the club to have an association with the local community. Before I came here in 2013, there was already a strong relationship with Yorkhill Hospital at the time.
For me, as a father, it really brings it home, but the kids are very well looked after and are in good hands, which is why it’s important to support the great work they do.
We also produced a one-off handprint jersey for that game with Coventry and it followed on from the Clangus-inspired kit we had last year, which was hit and miss with some people.
We decided to do something different and discussed some ideas with the hospital. They came up with the idea of having handprints put on to a graphic.
As everyone saw, it came out well and the design was fantastic and appropriate.
The auction was phenomenal and it’s one of the highest we’ve ever had, from what I can recall. Certainly not many over £8,000, that’s for sure.
All the money goes to the charity and we can’t thank everyone enough for their donations and support.
I’m always stunned at how much people are willing to pay, but at the same time, we’re always incredibly grateful. Some of the figures are eye-watering though.
One thing there’s no doubting is the support the fans give to the club and the team and that goes financially as well. A lot of people dig deep and we are always humbled by this.
When we go to see the kids in the hospital, it’s the one event the players clamour to take part in and that’s every year here.
A lot of the guys have got kids and like to be part of the community programme where they go out and meet the fans.
We’ll do the same next year and planning for it usually starts right after the fixtures meeting in July, when you start to look at themed events.