We are absolutely thrilled to announce that this year's Alchemy Cup surpassed all expectations, raising an astounding £2,431! The event took place on Thursday 10th August at St Columb’s College, and was a day filled with excitement and community spirit. It was truly heartwarming to witness local businesses joining forces to support Young Lives vs Cancer and collectively raise funds.
A special shout-out and warm congratulations are in order for the AXA team, who secured their victory for the second consecutive year as the Champions League winners. Applause also goes to Meta Compliance for their well-deserved victory in the Europa League final, while Allstate NI emerged as the victors in the Conference League Final. Well done to all these remarkable teams and to everyone who took part!
In memory of his late friend, Oran Boyd, who tragically lost his battle with Severe Aplastic Anaemia at the age of 18, our very own Technical Analyst, James Deery, organised this year's event, mirroring the success of the previous tournament which helped raise money for the Williams Syndrome Foundation.
James said “I’ve always wanted to do something to raise awareness for charities that are either local or not well known. This gave me the idea of a football event which would raise some money for charity, bring the local community together and show support to Oran’s family.”
Oran’s dad, Arnold Boyd, said Young Lives vs Cancer provided “invaluable” support to them while Oran was undergoing treatment. “When Oran was first diagnosed and admitted to Belfast City Hospital, we were given accommodation in Amys house, which is funded by Young Lives Vs Cancer. We stayed in this “home from home” for more than 11 months. Having two other children aged 14 and 8, it meant we were able to maintain some sort of normality when Oran was well enough to have them visit, meaning they were able to stay with us in Amys house. Young Lives Vs Cancer was invaluable for us.”
Let's give a big, hearty round of applause to every team that hit the pitch to show their support this year. A gigantic shoutout goes to the following: AXA Northern Ireland, R Turner Cars, FinTrU, Allstate Northern Ireland, MetaCompliance Ltd., PJD Body Repairs, Doherty's Home Bakery, and AB Motors.
Let's not forget to raise the roof for our amazing sponsors who helped stock our tuckshop and footballs: McCauley Moto, Quaker IO, JD Car Care, and Donnybrook Estate Agents & Chartered Surveyors. A major thanks to St. Columb’s College for lending us their pitch for the day, and a big shoutout to Peter at Really Awesome Coffee for keeping us fuelled with the good stuff!
Our raffle prizes were nothing short of epic! A massive thank you goes out to every single person who helped make it happen, the James McClean signed Ireland jersey proved to be very popular!
We are absolutely thrilled with the success of this year's tournament and eagerly look forward to the opportunity to do it all over again next year!
About Young Lives Vs Cancer:
Young Lives vs Cancer, the operating name for "CLIC Sargent", is a charity in the United Kingdom formed in 2005. Young Lives vs Cancer is a leading UK cancer charity for children, young people and their families. Its care teams provide specialist support across the UK.
For more information on the charity click here
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