TV soapstars Matt Lapinskas, Luke Roskell, Reece Douglas, Cell Spellman and Nico Mirallegro are expected to play in a charity football match in Salford this weekend.
The fixture, which is scheduled to take place at De La Selle playing fields on Lancaster Road in Salford on Saturday, will form a small part of an fun-filled family day in support of two charities – One Stop Breast Clinic at Salford Royal Hospital and Once Upon A Smile – a charity involved with families who have lost children and young people who have lost parents.
The game will kick off at 1:30pm at the community football club, which saw a young Ryan Giggs propelled to stardom.
Samantha Jolly, a key fundraiser for the One Stop Breast Clinic, told MM: “The event is going to be split between the two charities.
“We are actually fundraising at the moment to pay for a new blood test that the NHS doesn’t yet offer, but it is to detect breast cancer quite a good time early, reducing the cost of chemotherapy and various other treatments. How effective it actually is is phenomenal really,” she said.
“It really helps on reducing costs. That’s our overall aim – to fund this and to keep going forward.”
Our next two @Sidley_OUAS charity games over the next two weeks pic.twitter.com/XDGdm82tYN
— Richard davies (@richadavies1) July 6, 2015
Miss Jolly was also keen to highlight the importance of ensuring that men remain safe from breast cancer.
She said: “Men can be just as susceptible to breast cancer as women. It’s just as important to make sure that men are treated. So many people just ignore the fact (that men can get breast cancer).
“People think of breast cancer and they just automatically think of women. Men do still have breast tissue, just in a different form to ladies, so it is just as bad in men and women. It’s just not publicised as much,” she continued.
“We appreciate that and feel that men need to be aware of the risks and obviously getting themselves checked as much as women do.”
As well as a celebrity football match, the event will see various other activities, such as a fun fair and live music.
Miss Jolly added: “There will be go-karting, bouncy castles, a fun fair.
“We’ve also got a live music festival with three stages. Altogether there are about 30 bands. There’s also a DJ stage that’s got DJ sets on, including some people from Salford City Radio.”
In keeping with the community aspect of the event, Miss Jolly revealed that everybody who lived close to the venue was notified in advance and all were fully supportive of the cause.
“We’ve been around all the local residents to let them all know that it will be a bit noisy on that day.
“They are all really excited for the event. There have been no complaints or qualms with the residents,” she added.
Miss Jolly made clear that the event was heavily focussed on creating a positive atmosphere for everyone, claiming that it is “going to be a full family festival.”
“We are family orientated. Children are welcome on the field up until 11pm just as much as the adults are. There’s going to be no explicit lyrics or anything like that,” she assured.
Are you #TeamAaron or #TeamSuggers ? Danny Miller V Kelvin Fletcher 2nd August In aid of @Sidley_OUAS and Debra pic.twitter.com/MQ9bUeuBVZ
— Danny&Adam Fans!!♥ (@DannyMAdamTArmy) July 3, 2015
The enthusiasm of everybody involved with the festival was clearly conveyed by Miss Jolly.
She added: “We are really excited to involve the local community and to spread awareness of what Salford Royal Hospital does for people. We are a stone throw from the hospital, so I think it’s important that people see exactly what they can do and how they can help.
“It’s all about the community side of it. De La Salle Football Club where it is going to be hosted is a big community football club that is right in the heart of a community. It is important that people are aware of exactly how much people do for us.”
Miss Jolly was happy to sing praises for not only her own charity, but also on the other charity involved in the event.
SHe said: “Once Upon A Smile is a fantastic charity which touches the hearts of many, including a good friend of mine who lost his son not so long ago.
“They have helped him tremendously,” she continued.
She also stated that people are often unaware of the work that charities complete, calling for more support for charities in the local community.
“It’s just important that people are aware of the charities that are out there that do support us and do help us. People are a bit blind to it sometimes unfortunately.”
Miss Jolly, a volunteer herself, sought to praise all of those who are involved with charity work, commending the invaluable time and effort which they dedicate to help others.
“Volunteers are a massive part of any charity and we couldn’t put on half of the events that we do without our volunteers,” she said.
“Once Upon A Smile has got a massive base of volunteers, but unfortunately we haven’t got so many ourselves.
“We are a brand new charity so any help that people can give to us; even if someone just puts a pound in a collection pot, it all helps.
“Pennies make pounds, it all mounts up. Any sort of help that we can get to raise money is fantastic.”
Our next game is Saturday July 11th in Salford. All info is here on the poster . See you all there.. pic.twitter.com/m1I0DzWHer
— Once Upon A Smile FC (@OUAS_CharityFC) June 30, 2015
The cost of the event is £2.25 if you purchase your ticket online. Alternatively, you can purchase tickets on the day for £3. Under-2s can enter for free.
“We’ve been told that it is a fantastic price and that it should maybe be a little bit dearer,” Miss Jolly added.
“But at the end of the day, we would rather have 2000 people paying £3 each than 200 people paying £10 each.”
Preparations for the event are said to be going ‘really well’, with ticket sales already “in excess of 500 tickets” and “40 tickets sold in the last few hours alone.”
Miss Jolly also stated that she expects ticket sales to increase further “when they release the football team line-ups this week”.
Tickets for the charity match can be purchased online by clicking here.
Image courtesy of ITV via YouTube, with thanks.
