As well as a vital league fixture taking place on the pitch, today sees a number of community initiatives taking place before, during and after the game:

School Teams here to celebrate
We welcome guests from Bessemer Grange Primary School and St Joseph’s Camberwell Primary School. . They are here to enjoy the Champion Hill experience as part of our free tickets for schools and youth groups. As well as being here to enjoy the game, some of the pupils from these schools are attending to celebrate a fantastic achievement.

You may remember a few months back that we ran an Under 11’s football competition in partnership with Cobourg Primary School. The two winners of the inaugural Cobourg Cup were Bessemer Grange Boys and St Joseph’s Camberwell Girls. .

Both teams went on to represent Dulwich Hamlet in the regional finals of the National League Trust Cup. The regional finals took place at Sutton United FC last month. Both teams, kitted out in the pink and blue of The Hamlet, did the club proud and were fantastic ambassadors for their schools and our community.

Kit Amnesty
Today is our kit amnesty match. We are collecting any unwanted old sportswear, sports equipment and old school wear / uniforms. The clothing and equipment will be donated to Wear A Sports Shirt Day, which will distribute it to charities working in the UK and throughout the world to get underprivileged young people involved in sport. This has been organised in partnership with Cornishman Julian Chenery, now resident in London, who runs the “Wear A Sports Shirt Day” charity project and travels to non-league games regularly collecting donations.

Link Age Southwark

Representatives from Link Age Southwark will be attending the match today raising awareness and fundraising to support their work. Link Age Southwark is a vibrant local charity with an impressive track record of supporting older people to thrive in later life. They are currently supporting over 600 isolated, older people in the London Borough of Southwark. They recruit and train volunteers to visit older people in their homes, and organise activity groups in supported housing and community centres.

They support older people who are lonely – people who live alone without family, who may have been recently bereaved or have mobility issues which stop them leaving the home independently. Their fantastic team of over 400 volunteers bring joy to people’s lives and support older people to live independently in their own homes for as long as possible.

You could make someone smile and become one of their volunteers and give just an hour a week to help an older person. Whether you become a volunteer befriender, driver or fundraiser, there are plenty of ways to get involved. You can find out more by visiting www.linkagesouthwark.org/volunteering or call 020 8299 2623.”

Pancreatic Cancer UK

Hamlet fan, Toby Kempton and his friend will be at the game today raising money for Pancreatic Cancer UK. They are raising money in memory of Toby’s grandfather who passed away 3 years ago. We’re told that despite Toby’s grandfather being a Fulham fan, he was a season ticket holder at Champion Hill and made it down whenever he could.

We hope to see you at the game later. Remember to arrive early to avoid the queues!
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