Hartlepool United aim to net cash for town's Alice House Hospice

Mascots H’Angus and Alice Mouse with, from left, Pools manager Dave Challiner, and Alice House fundraisers Janice Forbes and Julie Hildreth

Hartlepool United are aiming to net some cash for one of the town’s best loved charities.

The club have nominated Alice House Hospice as their chosen charity for the 2021-22 season.

The new joint venture will see Pools working with and supporting the hospice, which provides specialist care for people and families affected by life-limiting illness and which relies hugely on donations from local people and organisations.

The partnership will be officially launched on Saturday, October 9, at Victoria Park when Northampton Town are the visitors.

Volunteers will collect donations while Orangebox Training Solutions, which is this season’s home strip sponsor and long-term hospice supporters, will also be present.

Future fundraising plans include a proposed sports dinner, FIFA 22 tournament, players visiting hospice patients and a range of other money-making and promotional activities.

Senior fundraising manager at Alice House, Julie Hildreth, said “This is a fantastic opportunity for two of Hartlepool’s best loved organisations to work together for the good of the town.

“We are really pleased to have been nominated and it is great to see that the club and its supporters recognise the valuable role of the hospice in our community.”

Hartlepool United’s chief operating officer, Stephen Hobin, added: “It’s great to see Hartlepool United working with Alice House again. I have quickly learnt that they are a fundamental part of this community.

"As a one club town, it is essential we do all we can to be a key part in the projects Alice House and partners put together. The money they raise certainly goes a long way.”

Simon Corbett, the chief executive officer of Orangebox, said “We’re really proud of our relationship with Alice House and being able to include them in our partnership with Hartlepool United.”

Alice House Hospice, based in the town’s Wells Avenue, is a registered charity offering specialist palliative care, counselling and support to hundreds of adults from Hartlepool and East Durham each year.

Its services cost £3.5m a year although only a fifth of that sum comes from government funding.

The outstanding £2.8m must be raised through the local community and fundraising initiatives.