Shrewsbury charity day was fun for all
A special fun day which featured a football match involving a team of Shrewsbury Town Legends in aid of three Shropshire children’s charities has been hailed a huge success.
A crowd of around 1,500 flocked to the Shrewsbury Sports Village on Sunday to support the event in aid of The Harry Johnson Trust, Crossbar Foundation and Little Rascals Foundation.
A Town old boys side, captained by Ian Sharps, and featuring a host of popular former Shrewsbury players including Dave Edwards, Mickey Brown, Paul Evans, Sam Aiston and Steve Cross played against Harry’s Rascals, a team made up of representatives of the three charities.
The match was the finale to a day which kicked off with a children’s football tournament, alongside attractions including go karting, bubble football and a disco dome.
Sally Johnson set up the Harry Johnson Trust with husband Stephen, in memory of their sonHarry, from Vennington, near Shrewsbury, who died in July 2014 aged seven, of a rare childhood cancer.
The Little Rascals Foundation, set up by the directors of the Little Rascals Indoor Soft Play Centre – Dave Edwards and Ben Wootton – helps children with disabilities; while the Crossbar Foundation, launched last August, supports the quality and lives of young people in deprived communities across Shropshire, often through sporting initiatives.
Sally said: “We were very grateful for the amazing support we had on the day. It was good to see so many people there supporting their children in the junior five-a-side tournament which took place in the morning or watching the legends game. It was a lovely family atmosphere and hopefully it will have raised thousands of pounds for the three charities.”
Andy Smith, the Crossbar Foundation’s community development manager, said: “We’ve got close connections with the two other charities and it was just great to be part of such a special day. It was a fantastic community day and the money used will help us all go forward as charities.”
Wales international Dave Edwards added he was delighted that his own Little Rascals Foundation were involved.
“The day was all about bringing the community together,” he said. "All three local charities are trying to help children in the area and it was amazing to see so many people come out. We’re so grateful that they took the time to come and support us. I can’t thank them enough.”
Jake King, a former Town captain and manager, took charge of the Shrewsbury Legends side, with his former team mate Sammy Irvine boss of the Harry’s Rascals team.
Jake said: “I was very happy to be part of a very successful and well supported day. It was very enjoyable to see all the lads, people like Austin Berkley, who I hadn’t seen for a long time, and the likes of Lee Steele still looked very sharp.”
As for the match, Eric Johnson, Harry’s 12-year-old brother, fittingly scored the winning goal, a late penalty past goalkeeper Ben Smith, as the Rascals edged an exciting 4-3 victory.
