Line-up for All Stars fundraiser
Celebrity guests and former Magpies’ legends have been lined up to play in an AllStars Football game to raise money and awareness for the CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) charity next month.
The CALM charity match will take place at York Road on Sunday, April 14, with Magpies’ boss Alan Devonshire and ex-Wycombe and QPR boss Gareth Ainsworth to take charge of the two teams.
The Magpies have been working closely with CALM this season to promote their work supporting anyone who is feeling suicidal or struggling with mental health issues.
The Heart DJ Toby Anstis was one of the first celebrities to agree to play in the match, while several of the Magpies’ National League South title winning squad from 2017 are set to lace up their boots. They include Sean Marks and James Mulley, who have released videos promoting the event, as well as James Comley, Carl Pentney and Rene Steer. Simone O’Brien and Amy Saunders from Maidenhead United’s Women’s team have also been lined up to play.
Looking ahead to what promises to be a ‘calendar event’ for the charity, Luis Mackness, partnerships manager for CALM, said: “Our partners are aware that every donation makes a big, big difference. The club have done a brilliant job in getting information about the charity across to fans and making it easy.
“But they’ve also helped us build events and days such as this. December 16 was a big day when we worked with the club for an anti-loneliness day, and the club have always had in mind that they wanted to have a charity day. Not only will it raise money for us, but it’s also an opportunity for people to get onto that pitch.
“It’s always been the club’s mentality to make the day as accessible as possible and they’ve done a really good job with that. It’s been a big shift from the club. Gareth Ainsworth is coming down for it, and Toby Anstis has done a great job on his socials, promoting it. I’ve seen a couple of the players release videos this week. It’s one of those events that ticks a lot of boxes for CALM, and it will help us raise money at an important time.”
CALM became Maidenhead United shirt sponsors this season, but the partnership has been about much more than that, with their work together likely to extend well beyond the end of the shirt deal. The Maidenhead Men’s Group has also used York Road as a base for their regular meetings, enabling men to speak about their feelings or problems in a friendly and non-judgemental space.
“We don’t have a copy and paste way for some of our partnerships,” added Luis. “But this one has made us improve how we talk to young people about suicide. Right at the start I was talking to the head of the academy (Maidenhead
United Juniors), about what we do, and they have something like 800 young players playing for them. So, the club have informed our output and services in terms of getting the wording right to help young people.”
On the Maidenhead Men’s Group, Luis added: “Phil (who began the group) is finding that amazing moment when you start to do something for the community and find out how much it is needed, and that’s not far off how CALM started itself. You start with an idea and for better or worse you find out that it’s required. But we’re finding that the club are not only promoting us, but they’re also pushing us and we’ve needed a bit of their creativity and effort. The club is doing something that very few others are, and that particular help is right up our street.”
York Road will open its gates from noon and the game is set to get underway from 1pm. There will be a food and drinks stall for supporters and opportunities to win signed shirts and balls from the club.
The suggested minimum donation for entry is £10 for adults and £5 for children under 17. Fans can donate on the gate on the day or via JustGiving.
The Campaign Against Living Miserably is taking a stand against suicide, by standing up against stereotypes and standing together to show that life is always worth living.
On average 125 lives are lost every week to suicide and 75 per cent of all UK suicides are male.