Scott Davies and his Slough Town teammates wore a Thames Hospice branded green strip for their fundraising matchday against Bath City in March
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Slough Town manager Scott Davies has agreed to become a Thames Hospice Ambassador after the club held a special fundraising matchday last season which raised more than £4,000 for the charity.
Throughout 2024 the Rebels have been active supporters of the hospice with members of the club visiting the hospice on several occasions to find out more about their work.
The successful fundraising day in March saw Slough Town play Bath City in a Thames Hospice branded green strip, while collections in the ground, a raffle and auction of the jerseys raised thousands for the hospice.
The club and the hospice appear keen to make the fundraiser a more regular event and Scott himself feels a strong personal connection with the hospice following his visit there earlier this year.
He said he was blown away by the work being done by the hospice to help families and individuals through the toughest period of their life.
Scott said: “You’d expect the Hospice to be quiet and miserable but just walking through the doors, it’s so vibrant. It’s such a friendly place. To be honest it’s blown my mind.
“During my visits, I met two families here and just feel so grateful for spending some time with them. It was so powerful. I drove home in tears and rang my wife to tell her what a huge impact it’d had on me.
“Having been to visit Thames Hospice before the match, it gave me an extra edge as a player and manager. I wanted us to win more than any other match. Whereas, if I hadn’t visited before the game, I probably would have wondered why I was wearing the shirt. It made me realise there are people much worse off than you and it had such a positive impact on me.”
It’s that personal connection which meant Scott had no hesitation in accepting the invitation to become an ambassador for the charity. Hospice colleagues are also deeply honoured that Scott will continue to support and promote their work.
The fundraising match in March drew in Slough’s biggest crowd of the season and Scott is looking forward to strengthening the bond between the club and hospice.
“I really like the idea of an annual game,” he said. “In fact, I would be happy to get involved in transforming the relationship. I genuinely care about what the Hospice does, and I’d like all the players to come and visit to really understand it too.
“I’d tell any local business to get involved and my advice would be, don’t wait. I wish I’d know about Thames Hospice sooner. If we can help to get the message out there, then I think many more people in the community will want to get stuck in and support the Hospice.”
Layla Pipe, Community Fundraiser at Thames Hospice, added: “We are delighted to have the support of Scott Davies as an official Ambassador of Thames Hospice and to be partnering with Slough Town FC. We are very much looking forward to working alongside Scott, to raising awareness of the Hospice in the local community we are both proud to serve.”