Wolves Shirt - Wolves Rotary - Wolves Samaritans

Mel Eves

I am a former professional footballer who was blessed and fortunate enough to achieve my boyhood ambition and play for my hometown club Wolverhampton Wanderers. After finishing playing football professionally I have made regular appearances for the former Wolves players charity football team The Wolves All Stars, of which I have been the Player/Manager for over 20 years. We have assisted good causes and charities to raise over half a million pounds in that time.

Rotary Club of the City of Wolverhampton

As a member of the Rotary Club of the City of Wolverhampton since 2003 I am pleased to be involved with a service organization that provides humanitarian service locally and internationally.

In a typical, normal year, the club raises in the region of £50,000 at its major fundraising events including Dragon Boat Racing at Himley Park and Best Foot Forward at Aldersley Stadium. Donations and support are made available to a wide range of local and international causes such as Compton Hospice, the Wolverhampton MS Centre, The Good Shepherd Centre for the Homeless and The Haven Refuge for women and children who have experienced domestic violence. 

During the pandemic, substantial aid has been given to numerous local organisations working in the community, including supplies for foodbanks, personal protective equipment for frontline workers in care homes, and toy boxes for children in areas of deprivation..

Wolverhampton Samaritans

Following a phone call with the leaders of the Wolverhampton Samaritans I was alarmed, but not surprised, that they are run off their feet and inundated with enquiries regarding stress and anxiety as a direct result of the lockdown measures. Many of those calls are from people with thoughts about suicide either concerning themselves or someone close to them.

Anne from the Wolverhampton Samaritans said:

"Samaritans offers a listening and emotional support service by telephone and through email, some callers find it easier to write their thoughts down rather than talk about them.

The pandemic has really increased our workload, in November alone we took 1065 calls. Sometimes the call can last just a few minutes or sometimes it can last for 2 to 3 hours.

Not all of our calls are from people who are feeling suicidal, many are feeling lonely and isolated, worried about their families and especially worried about Covid-19 and angry at the situation they find themselves in; but I would say that most of our callers have difficulty in seeing light at the end of the tunnel and that is what we hope to give them.

December and Christmas is always a very busy time for us, so can you imagine what it is like this year."

That is why myself and the members of The Rotary Club of the City of Wolverhampton have decided to raise money for this essential service for the people of Wolverhampton and surrounding areas.

Wolves Signed Shirt

I have in my possession a signed Wolves shirt that was kindly donated by Wolverhampton Wanderers FC themselves, initially to be used in the Rotary Club's big fundraising event of the year. This was to be the Dragon Boats event at Himley Park in May this year. Obviously this had to be postponed, so the signed Wolves shirt will now be used to raise much needed funds for the Wolverhampton Samaritans.

Prize Draw 

Entrance to the prize draw will close at midnight on 31st January 2021. Everyone who supports the initiative with £5 or more will go into a draw which will take place on 1st February 2021. The President of The Rotary Club of the City of Wolverhampton will make the draw and the winner will be announced on the project's Facebook page.