Commercial & Community news

Here is our latest column from the matchday programme against East Thurrock United, from yesterday

Good afternoon everyone.

Today we are pleased to welcome East Thurrock United, who-if I had my way-would never be in the same division as us! Bear with me folks, there is a method to my madness…We all know about the ‘scourge’ of ground gradings, & if I could wave my footballing utopian magic wand to cherry pick & choose our opponents, one of my criteria would be ‘location, location’, or more importantly distance from the nearest station. Those of you who have been to our visitors will know it’s a bit of a trek…so that would rule them out. But I’d squeeze them in with a ‘wild card’ as the awkwardness of the yomp from the trains are more than made up by the hospitality shown once you arrive. A cracking, down to earth community club, who offer a warm welcome, with no airs & graces. Call me ‘old fashioned’ but what more could you want?

For the match against them we are also pleased to say hello to some of our sponsors for the game, namely the Match Sponsors, which is from the Morrish clan, & “In memory of Leslie Morrish (1922-39) Happy B’day Bryan & Leslie Morrish”. I am guessing this is in relation to one of our great players, of the same name, & I am sure you will be able to read a little more about him in this programme by our editor, with another of his superb historical space-fillers. The Match Ball has been kindly sponsored by a very old & loyal fan, Ralph Hopkins, who still follows The Hamlet from home, with ill health preventing him from seeing his beloved Dulwich as often as he would like. A big thank you to both Ralph & the Morrish family for their generosity.

You may have noticed a collection at our last home game, for Solace Womens’ Aid, which is a charity supported by one of our Club Officials, Claudia Jukes. She says a big thank you to everyone who contributed, either via the collection, or through purchasing a 50/50 Draw ticket. The total collected on the day was over TWO HUNDRED & SIXTY POUNDS! She is also running the Hampton Court Half Marathon for them at the end of the month, & if you would like to support her in this worthy venture then there is a Just for Giving page at: https://www.justgiving.com/Claudia-Jukes/
Today is very much a charity day, with several good causes looking for you to help out if you can. More & more we like to help, not just because it’s nice to help others, but it’s our moral duty as a community football club to try to put a little something back, via such things.

As part of the Ryman League fundraising for Red Nose Day, across all three divisions, we will have a Red Nose Bucket in the clubhouse, so feel free to chuck in any loose change after you’ve paid for your beer today.

Before & during the game you will see some face-painters about, from the Football Beyond Borders charity, who are based locally, & work with youngsters in our area. So why not brighten up your boat with a bit of colour from them, for a donation to their cause. Face painting…it’s not just for kids; ‘Proper’ Hamlet fans never grow up anyway! You will have seen them filming here at recent matches, specifically the home match on 21st February as guests of Dulwich Hamlet Football Club, when we played Metropolitan Police. They have also been filming at other non-league grounds, specifically Clapton, & will be launching their FBB-TV channel tonight in our Clubhouse, from eight o’clock. So why not stay & support the superb work they are doing and back their fundraiser tonight too?

We are pleased to support a third charity this afternoon, namely the homeless charity ‘Shelter’. One of our fans, Keeley Bolger is running the London Marathon for them, on Sunday 26th April. To help her boost her fundraising the Football Club Committee have agreed to donate the proceeds from today’s 50/50 Draw to her cause. And she will also be walking round the ground in the latter part of the second half with her donations bucket for Shelter, as well as rattling it at the big blue exit gates at the final whistle. You can also support her charity page by looking here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=KeeleyMinihane
That’s enough, for my column today, I’m worn out just writing it, I have no idea how Claudia & Keeley will feel after their runs!
We look forward to seeing you back here, for our penultimate Ryman League Premier Division home fixture, on Easter Monday, 6th April, kick off at 3 o’clock.