Swansea City, Westacres and Swansea Building Society donate framed third shirt to Maggie's

Swansea City players Harry Darling and Ollie Cooper were joined by club representatives and partners for the presentation of a framed third shirt to official charity partner Maggie’s to celebrate a strong start to the Tackling Cancer Together campaign.

Defender Darling and midfielder Cooper were joined by club ambassador Lee Trundle, former midfielder Leon Britton, and senior figures from Westacres and Swansea Building Society in visiting Maggie’s Swansea centre, which is located within the grounds of Singleton Hospital.

The Tackling Cancer Together campaign – which centres around the Swans’ vibrant pink third kit – aims to raise awareness of, and provide vital funds for the local charity, which will require approximately £700,000 in order to continue to provide its wide range of services and support during 2024.

Maggie’s provides crucial help for so many in our community, including honorary club president Alan Curtis MBE and his wife Clare, who helped launch the campaign in August.

The third shirt itself bears the campaign’s name in the collar, while the colourful dot design represents the most common types of cancer, and the stories of all who have been impacted by the disease.

Supporters are able to add their stories to the campaign here while direct donations to Maggie’s can be made here.

As a charity, Maggie’s rely on the generosity of donations to keep the lights on, doors open and continue delivering sometimes life-saving free services year on year, as outlined by Swansea centre fundraising manager Lucia Osmond.

“Donations are hugely important,” she said.

“We don’t receive any funding from the NHS or Government, we have to do all of our own fundraising with our supporters in the community.

“It will cost us approximately £700,000 in 2024 which is a lot of money to find to keep the service open, so having the support from the Swans from a fundraising point of view - as well as an awareness raising point of view - is really important.”

Among the many services provided at the centre – including mental health support and financial advice – Maggie’s also champion relaxation and mindfulness, which Darling, Cooper and Trundle had the opportunity to try out during their visit as they took part in a yoga session with centre attendees.

“It was nice to see what services Maggie’s offer and how they can help people. We got to do some yoga with the people who visit the centre, and that was nice,” said Darling.

“It’s been a pleasure to be part of things and have a look around the centre.

“They do amazing things here at Maggie’s for people affected by cancer, and if there is any way the club can help I feel like we need to do it, especially for charities like this which offer so much to the community.

“I have a family member who has a cancer diagnosis so I was keen to be part of this campaign.

“Cancer is such a hard thing, so the things Maggie’s offer directly to people with cancer and their family members is brilliant.”

“It was nice to do the yoga with the centre visitors and Harry and Ollie,” added Trundle.

“The services are brilliant here, and it’s nice to have a place where people can come because everyone has been touched by cancer in some way. It’s great what they’re doing here.

“The work they do is amazing, and it’s incredible to have a place like this where people can just drop in and feel at home. It’s great that the club have partnered with Maggie’s and are giving them support, because the support Maggie’s give the city is unbelievable.”

An amount from each third-shirt sale will be donated to Maggie’s, while Westacres and Swansea Building Society – who both feature on the shirt - will match the donations made by the club.

“The work Maggie’s do is magnificent. We’ve been touched by cancer ourselves, my aunt had breast cancer and I had a tumour removed, but I was lucky that it was benign,” said Tonya Morgan, director at Westacres.

“We’re so proud and privileged to be part of some of the fundraising taking place with the shirt.”

Ian Morgan, Westacres managing director, added: “We’re massively proud to be part of this campaign and to be able to have the chance to support a massive charity here in Swansea.

“Between the three of us – the club, Westacres and Swansea Building Society – we’ve agreed to contribute to the charity and it’s a fantastic way to raise funds for a great local charity.”

That message was echoed by Jane Parker, area manager of Swansea, Neath and Port Talbot at Swansea Building Society.

“We’ve been a main charity partner of Maggie’s for a couple of years, but the kit and the campaign surrounding it has just given us an additional platform on which to raise more funds,” she said.

“It’s a great looking kit too, and I think it’s proven to be very popular. It makes us very proud to be part of it.”