Community review: November

An overview of the club's community exploits during the month of November

Following on from the club’s early work with Blesma, The Limbless Veterans which saw September’s league meeting with Derby County at Macron Stadium dedicated to supporting the charity, Wanderers’ game with Cardiff City saw a very special presentation take place.

Combining sales of the Whites’ limited edition third kit alongside the bucket collection total from the Derby match, the club were able to present representatives from Blesma with a cheque for £10,000 prior to kick-off on the midweek fixture.

November also saw the first team squad wear their third kit for the first time, with the players sporting it for their Sky Bet Championship clash against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.

Ahead of Wanderers’ meeting with the Seasiders, members of the Bolton Wanderers Community Trust visited Blemsa’s centre in Blackpool to meet the people there and see the great work that they are doing.

In what was a busy month in the local community, David Wheater and Community Ambassador Tony Kelly were next up to represent the club as they visited Mytham Primary School to speak with the pupils and offer advice to the youngsters.

The duo firstly took part in a question and answer session with a group of Year Six students who were participating in a sports based writing group aimed to help develop their literacy skills before taking their places in front of an assembly consisting of pupils from Year Three upwards, with youngsters in the hall given the opportunity to put their own questions to the pair.

With the festive season growing ever nearer, Wanderers announced that they had teamed up with Middlebrook Retail Park to support a toy appeal for three charities that the club worked with throughout the 2014/15 campaign.

The charities involved were the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, an associate charity of the Whites during the season and one which cares for seriously ill children; Fortalice, who provide refuge for families fleeing domestic violence and finally Winston’s Wish, Wanderers’ local charity of the year which 
provides support to children who have lost their parents under distressing circumstances.

Fortalice received additional backing during the month of November, with the Whites’ league fixture with Huddersfield Town being designated to supporting them as an organisation. 

With Neil Lennon having linked up with the club just a month previously, a young Bolton fan was given the surprise of his life in November as the manager paid him a special visit.

Having applied for Lennon’s job with the help of his granddad, nine-year-old Thomas Fielding was given the surprise of his life as the Bolton boss called in on his training session with Oxford Grove’s Under 10s.

During his visit, the manager also presented and signed a Bolton Wanderers home shirt with ‘OXFORD GROVE 10’ printed on the reverse as a gift from one club to another.

Elsewhere, the first team squad and backroom staff called in at the club's annual Lifeline lottery party night following the Whites’ clash away at Blackpool to meet and greet its members.

Over 900 people attended the annual event which was held inside the Premier Suite at Macron Stadium, with food and entertainment provided on the night as one of the many bonuses to the Lifeline members.

Lifeline members pay £2 per week for entry into two draws and the chance to win up to £2,000 weekly plus up to £7,500 on the Lifeline Rollover Draw - for more information on the schemes, please visit www.boltoncentral.co.uk

Finally, Craig Davies and Max Clayton attended a special supporter branch meeting at the Lancaster Whites, with the striking duo on hand to meet and pose for photographs with the members of the official Lancaster branch of Bolton Wanderers supporters.

Visit www.bwfclancaster.org.uk to find out more about the Lancaster Whites.

Click on the video player below to watch the manager's visit to Oxford Grove under-10s.
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