11 Jul 2024 Community

Kirk Footy Fest raises over £2,500 for The Kirkwood

The Kirkwood relies on the generosity of the community raising funds for us to help support and care for people in our area of Kirklees. Without these amazing fundraisers we wouldn't be able to offer the services we do. 

The team at the Spangled Bull pub in Kirkheaton have recently raised over £2,500 for our charity. Creating a family fun football day on the 16th June, despite the bad weather the team put on a fantastic event. 

Husband and wife team Craig and Danielle Taylor-Green have worked in the health sector for many years but now own the Spangled Bull pub. They have decided to use their pub to create a community around it and get that community to raise funds for good causes like The Kirkwood. 

On raising those funds for The Kirkwood and how the event went, Craig said: “When we took this pub over, my wife and I always wanted it to be more than just a pub. We wanted it to be a bit of a community hub and the beating heart of the village.

“For a while now we've been thinking about how we can do something for The Kirkwood. We've had our own personal experiences with The Kirkwood.

“We have both come from a social care background. I've worked in social care for 26 years. So it was very poignant for us to do something for The Kirkwood. 

“The idea behind the football theme was literally just a few days before I spoke to Julia Owen from The Kirkwood. Two of the chaps who were there when I had the initial chat with Julia were integral to the idea, they were Lewis Crank and Daniel Butcher. 

“I lived in Malta and I was playing for the maltese national team when I was younger. When I returned to England, I played a bit of football here locally and had a spell as a coach as well, so I'm a qualified football coach. 

“So coming into the pub here we noticed there was a big football community and that fitted nicely into the idea of what we wanted to create.

“We had the conversation on a Sunday afternoon and threw some ideas out there and it just kind of grew from there. Then it was just a case of putting that into action the following week.

“The event was about bringing people together, and enjoying playing football which many people do. We had 36 people taking part and split them into two teams who played a nine a-side fixture with subs.” 

On their social care background and what they knew about The Kirkwood, Craig continued: “As I said my wife and I have done 26 years between us in social care. I worked a lot with The Kirkwood practitioners who would come to the care home I worked at and supported us with giving us guidance on how we cared for those with a life limiting illness.

“We have had first hand experience working alongside The Kirkwood and seeing the work that everybody does there on the team it just shows how good the charity is. 

“My last role in the care home was as a care manager and I had a lot of interaction and face to face interaction with some of the qualified end of life nurses who would manage people's pain and medication. Those nurses definitely made our lives far easier with the knowledge they have.” 

Finally Craig wanted to thank the people who were involved in the event and wanted to look ahead to next year. 

He said: “I wanted to say a huge thanks to Kirkheaton Cricket and Bowling Club who let us have the use of their changing rooms at the club. I'd like to thank all The volunteers and everyone who came on the day too. Despite the weather it was a great day and one everyone all enjoyed. 

“Next year we'd love to make it a full sports day and build on what we have done this year. We are proud of what we achieved this year but we want to raise even more funds next year.”