Aston Villa fans close in on £5,000 charity goal for Acorns

Nov 30 2009 by Kat Keogh, Birmingham Mail

A NEW Aston Villa supporters’ club is on target to raise £5,000 for a children’s hospice.

Members of the newly-formed Pheasey Supporters Club in Great Barr completed a five-mile sponsored walk to Villa Park.

The walk was in aid of Acorns, which cares and supports more than 500 children and young people who have life-limiting or life-threatening illnesses.

The charity’s three hospices each cost £4,500 a day to run and Acorns relies on fundraising for the majority of its income. Organiser Kevin Cooper said: “We’ve only been going a few months but we really wanted to show our support and dedication to Villa by doing all we could to help Acorns.

“When we learnt more about how many children, young people and families living locally are supported by Acorns, helping them to cope every day by offering expert care for free in a home-from-home environment, we just wanted to do our bit.”

The walkers, who are now just £500 short of their £5,000 target, were met at the ground by Villa mascots Bella and Hercules, who joined them on the steps for a celebratory photo.