Arsenal dedicates Premier League matchday to its charity of the season

04/12/08

On Sunday 21 December, Arsenal Football Club is dedicating its Premier League match against Liverpool to its Charity of the Season, Teenage Cancer Trust.
Arsenal players and directors will be donating a day’s wages to the charity dedicated to helping improve the lives of young people with cancer and are encouraging supporters to give what they can through the ‘Be a Gooner. Be a Giver.’ campaign. The Club has a £300,000 target to reach over the 2008/09 season and the dedicated matchday will be a milestone for the partnership on the road to achieving this figure.

There will be a number of fundraising activities taking place at Emirates Stadium at the matchday and to mark the special nature of the match, Arsenal players have participated in a short promotional film alongside teenagers with cancer. The light hearted advert, entitled ‘Do What I Say’, reflects the players’ support for young people with cancer. The Gunners stars appear in funny scenarios doing whatever the teenagers want them to do. The advert was created and shot by the agency, Brothers and Sisters and includes a voiceover by British comedian and Arsenal fan Matt Lucas. The film will appear on www.beagoonerbeagiver.org from 15 December in the run-up to the dedicated matchday and aims to encourage supporters to join in and donate through the site.

Arsenal Captain, Cesc Fabregas who stars in the advert and who will lead his players in donating a day’s wages said: “I visited the Teenage Cancer Trust unit back in August so I know what this means to the charity and the teenagers it helps. I encourage all supporters to follow our lead and give what they can. This advert is a bit of fun for the players and we hope supporters enjoy it, but there is a very real message in it about helping teenagers and we hope to raise lots of money for this worthwhile cause.”

Simon Davies, CEO of Teenage Cancer Trust said, “From the launch of the partnership back in August, we’ve been heartened to see how Arsenal players, supporters and staff have responded to the charity. Many of the teenagers being treated on our unit in London have already benefited greatly from the partnership through meeting players and being involved in activities such as the advert. The dedicated matchday is another example of this wonderful campaign in action and the generosity shown by all at the Club. We hope that the matchday puts us well on the way to reaching our target.”

Arsenal Manager, Arsène Wenger added: “The team and I have met some patients from Teenage Cancer Trust units on several occasions throughout the partnership so far and we’re all struck by the strength and courage they show in fighting this disease. We understand the importance of these units which give young people a sense of normality in their lives whilst being treated for cancer so we want to ensure we do the best we can for them throughout the whole partnership. The dedicated matchday highlights the work of the charity and gives players, staff and supporters the chance to do something, however small, to help reach this target.”

Over the course of the season, through the ‘Be A Gooner. Be A Giver.’ campaign, the Gunners will aim to raise £300,000 enabling Teenage Cancer Trust to increase its support for teenagers and young adults with cancer in the London area by building a unit within a brand new Day Care Centre at University College Hospital, London. The money raised, through fundraising initiatives such as the dedicated matchday, will fund an Education Zone within the unit.

Arsenal is the first to commit to funding part of Teenage Cancer Trust’s unit in the Day Care Centre which will be the first of its kind in Europe and is due to open in 2012. The Club hopes that other organisations will follow their lead, helping the charity to raise a further £1.2million to complete the development of their unit which will help thousands of young people with cancer and their families across London and the South East.

The Education Zone will be a dedicated space where those being treated can keep up with their studies and also learn more about their cancer. The zone will include computers and laptops with wireless access, enabling them to contact their school, keep in touch with their friends and even join in with lessons via webcam.