Help Spartans spread the spirit of Christmas – “Donate at the Gate” is back!

Posted on Tuesday, December 9th, 2014

For the third year running, Spartans are offering fans the opportunity to watch football for free in return for a donation of items that will be distributed amongst projects across the local community.

We’re hoping for a bumper crowd at our League Cup lunchtime derby against Edinburgh City on Saturday (13^th December) and entry is FREE for all supporters who ‘Donate at the Gate’.

Santa Spartan will be on hand to collect donations on behalf of the Spartans Community Football Academy as they set out to pull together packs of essentials for the local Salvation Army’s Ashbrook Lifehouse and a handful of foodbank charities in the North Edinburgh community.

Kind hearted fans are asked to pop in a present and the Club will wrap it up in time to give to Santa to deliver on Christmas Day. Everyday items such as toothpaste, deodorant, shower gel, basic clothing items and non-perishable foods are welcome.

Kenny Cameron, Spartans Academy Community Youth Leader said, “This is the fifth year we’ve done our appeal and it’s one of the highlights of my year handing over the sacks full of gifts from us just before Christmas.  It’s becoming a bit of a tradition that we support the Ashbrook Lifehouse and they are always extremely grateful for any donations they get.

“We’ll also be donating to local foodbanks and when you hear how tough it is, even for working families, it’s harrowing.  With everyone’s help this year we’ll ensure more families have enough food on the table around the Festive period.

“Donate at the Gate once again shows the Spartans Family at its very best.  We’ve had some nice coverage recently because of the Men’s team with their giant killing and the Women reaching the Scottish Cup Final, but it’s more than that.

“It’s more than the football teams doing well. It’s the magic of Spartans. Here’s the football club again supporting an Academy programme by allowing people to turn up, not pay an entrance fee, but with something for Ashbrook or the foodbanks.  It’s a fantastic gesture.

“Last year was very successful and shows the generosity of the Spartans Family and the wider community who support these initiatives.  We hope this year will be the biggest collection so far.”