Fundraising for good causes

Following the boardroom changes at Norwich City FC, the Canaries Trust decided to change direction and cease purchasing shares in the club. Instead, we chose to focus all our fundraising efforts on local charities and good causes.

When the club announced the Healthy Fans initiative this seemed an obvious choice.

The Trust has been raising money through various competitions and events over the years, so it was a natural progression to extend this.

First, there are eBay sales. Shortly after Covid we held a collection of pre-loved NCFC shirts and clothing. We had intended to collect something like 100 items, but as usual NCFC supporters excelled themselves and the whole thing just snowballed. We sent many of them to NCFC fans in Syria who have no access to foreign merchandise because of the conflict. The war in Ukraine affected this and we still had some left over, so decided to sell them on eBay. This has proven very successful and we were recently able to present a cheque for £1,500 to the Healthy Fans initiative.

We are still collecting items so if you have any donations or unwanted items get in touch at secretarycanariestrust@gmail.com. We will take any NCFC memorabilia, not just clothing, and even that of other clubs.

Another source of income is Easyfundraising.com. This is an intermediate website which directs your searches to the required page, and a small contribution is donated by the vendor to worthwhile charities. It’s easy and only takes a minute of your time; it doesn’t cost you a penny either! Most common websites like Amazon, eBay and Marks & Spencers as well as the major supermarkets participate so you can contribute every time you do your regular grocery shop. For more details go to https://www.easyfundraising.com and search for Canaries Trust.

Then there’s our old favourite the Canary Challenge which has been running in various guises over the years. It's raised £13,200 in the last decade alone - and it's fun to enter.

You’ll also see us at village fetes during the summer where we hold fundraising stalls. Do come and say hello!

The Trust is very serious about our fundraising. Details of all the above can be found at www.canariestrust.org and across our social media channels.

If you want to know more about Healthy Fans you can find information at www.communitysportsfoundation.org.uk/programmes/healthy-fans/ . You can also find the Healthy Fans Hub behind the Norwich and Peterborough Stand on match days where you can speak to representatives and some Canaries Trust members.