The most recent winners in the Carpetright #WeWinYouWin competition will all be receiving cheques for £500 to spend on their sports clubs.
The competition, which was launched in January, sees club sponsors Carpetright donate £500 to a south west-based sports club every time that City win. Stoke Hill under-8s were selected as the winners from the Walsall game; West Exe Youth from the Swindon match and Witheridge Football Club from the match against Leyton Orient.
Nick Hawker, chair of Exeter City Supporters’ Trust, said: “We are extremely fortunate to have Carpetright as our club sponsor and the fact that they are prepared to support grass roots clubs across the region reflects our shared commitment to benefit the community in whatever we do. We greatly appreciate their generosity. These donations will go a long way to supporting these clubs, many of whom have had their own fundraising reduced or curtailed because of the pandemic.”
Sean Carter nominated Stoke Hill under-8s. In his competition entry he said: “The team started up during the Covid era which caused difficulties securing sponsorship for a playing kit and training gear. Despite this, they never complain and have made do with hand-me downs in order for them to play matches this season. It would be great for them to head into the new season with their own kit and identity and experience the excitement of putting on a brand new team kit for the first time.”
Mark Davey, coach of West Exe under-8s based in St Thomas, Exeter, said: “We have 24 children, both boys and girls within our team and participate in the Exeter and District West Youth League. Having started this team at Under 7’s age in August 2020, in the early part of the covid 19 pandemic, things have not been easy. Many breaks in both training and matches have been enforced and team funding is incredibly tight, at a time when sponsorship is hard to find, and parents’ incomes squeezed.
“As a grassroots club we are reliant on sponsorship to keep running, at the present time we are looking for additional training and matchday wear as well as training equipment. We play our matches at Cowick Barton Fields in Exeter and our current goals are coming to end of their life and therefore this donation will be very helpful in assisting us to purchase some of the above.”
Ryan Manning, captain of Witheridge Football Club, said the club had recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. He added: “Our reformed first team won the Devon Intermediate Cup with a group of young, local talent. Although covid made it difficult for the club to celebrate their 100 years in existence, the club maintained their fantastic attitude towards developing young and local players throughout. The team also embarked on fundraising challenges and community events throughout covid to give some care back to their local community. For that reason, I believe Witheridge would benefit from support to help them improve facilities and take their team to the next level. Their facilities need a huge amount of TLC and they are desperate to purchase a replica copy of their centenary year trophy after they had to hand it back.”
The #WeWinYouWin competition runs until December 2022. So, whether your club needs new kit, sports equipment, or improvements to grounds, clubhouses or pitches – if we win, you stand a chance of winning as well. And it doesn’t have to be football - all sports clubs, of all sizes are welcome to apply.
To enter, all you need to do is follow the Grecians. If we’ve won, you’ll then have seven days to send your pitch to Carpetright, explaining who you are, why you deserve help and how £500 could help you to keep winning. Email entries must be no more than 350 words and should be sent to wewinyouwin@carpetright.co.uk
Full details of the terms and conditions of the competition can be found here.