Partnership confirmed at Kenilworth Road launch this afternoon
Luton Town are delighted to confirm that Level Trust, the local charity that supports children living in poverty in Luton, is the football club’s charity of the year for 2016-17.
This is the second season the Hatters have selected an official charity partner, with the focus being on helping smaller local causes gain publicity through their year-long association with the club.
After tying joint-first in the inaugural selection process, it was agreed that CHUMS would be the Town’s charity for 2015-16 with Level Trust automatically taking over for the current campaign.
Level Trust seeks to remove the barriers that poverty brings to a child’s education by providing children with everything they need to thrive. More information on their fantastic work can be found at www.leveltrust.org
Level Trust Director Jane Malcolm said: “I am delighted that we have been chosen as Luton Town Football Club’s charity of the year. Luton is lucky enough to have a football club that cares deeply about its town and the people who live in it. This is clearly demonstrated in their decision to support Level Trust.
“In Luton 14,000 children and young people live under the poverty line. Shockingly, poverty in Luton stops children from wearing a good school uniform, going on school trips and having warm clothing in the winter.
“By supporting us, Luton Town Football Club will be helping us put a stop to the damage that this can do to a child’s experience of school and growing up. We are so grateful for all they are planning to do for the children we work with.”
We are equally pleased to announce that as part of the arrangement, our main sponsors SsangYong Motor UK Ltd have generously donated their front-of-shirt space to Level Trust for the Sky Bet League Two match against Crawley Town at Kenilworth Road on Saturday 11th February.
Paul Williams, CEO of SsangYong Motor UK Ltd (pictured below handing the shirt over to Jane Malcolm), said: “It’s a shocking statistic that as many as 14,000 children in Luton are living below the poverty line, and we are delighted to support this extremely worthwhile cause.”
Luton Town Chief Executive Gary Sweet said: “Level Trust is a fantastic local charity and when we started this process as an extension of our community involvement last year, we were pleased and astounded to see Level Trust and CHUMS come joint top in the vote we put out to staff.
“We had dialogue with Jane about us partnering with CHUMS for a year, and then working with Level Trust in year two, and it all fitted together with one or two things she had going on.
“This is the official handover and we hope that the coming year can be as profitable for Level Trust as it was for CHUMS – not just in terms of cash raised by the club, but through the huge amount of exposure Level Trust will gain off the back of initiatives like auctioning the shirts against Crawley that SsangYong have kindly donated their sponsorship for. The publicity sparks new donations and interest in the charity.
“Level Trust’s reason for existing is to remove the barriers that poverty brings to a child’s education in Luton. We fully support that as a football club, through our staff and players, and look forward to another great year.”
Along with today’s launch of the club’s partnership with Level Trust, we can also reveal that Brain Tumour Research are the Hatters players’ selection as their charity of the year.
A public vote online to choose the supporters’ charity of the year was launched on the club’s official website yesterday, with voting due to close at midday on Friday 2nd September. To read about the contenders and make your choice, click here