Midfielder Jason Lowe has been named as Derian House Children's Hospice's newest ambassador.
The 27-year-old is the latest recruit for the Chorley-based charity, with them having a number of famous faces already lending their support.
And on Thursday afternoon, he visited the hospice to meet the children and young people and officially kick-off his ambassadorship, which will see him using his platform to raise the profile of the charity which offers respite and end-of-life care to children from across the North West.
Lowe will focus on the charity’s Derian on Holiday project, which in 2019 will give almost 1,000 people in its care a free holiday at Ribby Hall village to help them create memories to last a lifetime.
The dad-of-two said: “I was one of a group of players who visited Derian just before Christmas to deliver some presents to bring a smile to the children’s faces. Visiting a place like Derian puts your own life into perspective and I felt honoured to be asked to be an ambassador.
“I’ll be focussing on the Derian on Holiday project because as a family man myself I know that holidays are so important.
"It’s where a lot of special memories are made and during times when it’s not going so great you can look back at holidays and they perk you up a little bit.”
The league-leading project is the only one of its this kind in the UK and helps families enjoy time away together from the stresses and strains of everyday life, to just be a family.
David Robinson, Chief Executive of Derian House Children’s Hospice, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have Jason on board.
"Not only does his high profile as a professional footballer mean we can tell more people about our good work, as a local lad he really cares about making a difference here in his community.”
Derian House Children’s Hospice provides respite and end-of-life care for 350 families from across Lancashire and South Cumbria.
It needs to raise £4million every year to do this. With less than 10 per cent of these costs coming from statutory funding, it relies on the generous support of the community.
For more information about Derian House, please visit www.derianhouse.co.uk.