The world’s oldest football gaming company partners with Cavell Nurses’ Trust and commits to 12 months of financial support to help key front line workers
The Football Pools is partnering with UK nursing charity, Cavell Nurses’ Trust to launch #ForTheNurses. The initiative will see The Football Pools donate 20% of new and returning Classic Pools customer subscription fees to Cavell Nurses’ Trust. Cavell Nurses’ Trust is the charity supporting UK nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants, when they are suffering personal or financial hardship often due to illness, domestic abuse and more recently the devastating impact of COVID-19.
The donation will be applied to the first six months of any new and returning subscriptions made between 13 April – 12 November 2020, resulting in year-long support. And despite the postponement of all professional matches, the great British tradition that is Classic Pools (from The Football Pools) will not be impacted. This is because in 1963 a Pools Panel was created to adjudicate on the outcome of all matches when harsh weather meant English football was called off.
The panel has remained in place to this day and three legendary ex-player members Ian Callaghan, David Sadler and Tony Green continue to meet up and adjudicate via video link in the wake of COVID-19, meaning customers will still have chances of winning big cash prizes. Over its 97-year history, it has paid out over £3.2 billion to winners.
Liverpool legend and all-time top scorer, Ian Rush, who is backing #ForTheNurses said: “We are faced with a huge challenge right now and it is important we all contribute to the effort where we can. The Football Pools is doing just that and I’m proud to be involved with their partnership with Cavell Nurses’ Trust which will provide much needed support for nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants across the UK.”
The worlds of football and nursing are in fact historically linked. Lilly Parr, the first women’s player to be made an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame at the National Football Museum, was a fully trained nurse at Whittingham Mental Hospital until her retirement. Parr scored around 1000 goals between 1919 – 1951 and in June last year, her statue was unveiled at the museum making her the first female player to be commemorated with a statue.
CEO of The Football Pools, Derek Lloyd said: “Nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants are faced with huge challenges on the front line and are the vital backbone of our healthcare system. The Football Pools is delighted to be financially supporting these unsung heroes as they bravely tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. With the help of our remarkable friends at Cavell Nurses’ Trust, we can have a direct impact over the next 12 months and hopefully beyond.”
CEO of Cavell Nurses’ Trust, John Orchard said: “We’ve seen an unprecedented rise in enquiries from nurses and midwives in the last few weeks asking for money to buy food and pay bills. We want to help as much as our funding allows so we’re incredibly grateful to the Football Pools team for coming up with this wonderful idea to raise funds.
“The nursing family are rising to the challenge of the coming days and weeks, caring for those of us most at risk. But we feel the effects of the pandemic will be felt by our nurses for months to come.”
If you are #ForTheNurses visit footballpools.com/forthenurses to learn how you can support.
Follow @Football Pools and @CavellTrust on Twitter.
