Sale Sharks Community Trust takes delivery of new minibus – thanks to support from Barclays

The Sale Sharks Community Trust has taken delivery of a brand-new minibus to support its community work – thanks to Barclays, who matched the money raised at a ‘sporting legends’ fundraising dinner earlier this year.

Former England footballer John Barnes, Olympic gymnast Beth Tweddle, rugby league legend Paul Sculthorpe and former Sharks star Mark Cueto teamed up at February’s event, held at Innside Hotel to support the Trust’s programmes.

And thanks to the support from Barclays, more than 21,000 pounds was raised after guests spent an evening hearing inspirational stories from some of the young people that have taken part in those programmes.

The 200-strong audience were also wowed with anecdotes from the sporting legends about their career highlights – and some of the moments they were glad were not captured by TV cameras – and the night was rounded off by a rendition of ‘World in Motion’ by John Barnes.

But now the Trust – the charitable arm of Premiership Rugby club Sale Sharks – is searching for a North West-based business to sponsor the minibus to help with its ongoing running costs.

Jonny Acheson, the Executive Director of the Sale Sharks Community Trust, said: “It was a fantastic event at the Innside Hotel in Manchester and we are so grateful for all of the support we received on the night, particularly from Barclays, who matched everything raised.

“With help from our sporting legends, we have raised enough money to purchase a minibus which will make a huge difference to our ability to deliver to a range of communities across the North West.

“There is now an opportunity for a business to associate their brand with the positive work the Trust is doing that has a real impact on the lives of people in the region.

“This includes providing education and employment support to around 200 disadvantaged young people each year, delivering activities to around 2,000 people with a disability, and supporting veterans through our Sharks Forces programme.

“The Trust is looking for businesses that align to the same values to have the opportunity to brand the minibus with the company’s logo and also help the charity cover the running costs of the vehicle.”

Matt Ryan, Relationship Director at Barclays Corporate in Manchester, added: “We were delighted to be able to support the fundraising dinner in February and it’s fantastic that we managed to raise enough money to pay for this minibus.

“The Sharks Community Trust is something we are really proud to be involved with because we know what an impact it has had on people’s lives right across the North West.

“We invited a number of local businesses to take tables on the night, and they were delighted to support the event. It also gave them an insight into how the Trust works, and how they can give something back to community whilst also helping themselves to recruit young, hungry and talented people who they otherwise wouldn’t have found. I’m extremely proud to have seen a number of them take on new employees as a result.”

For more information on the work of the Sale Sharks Community Trust, visit: www.salesharks.com/community and for more information about sponsoring the minibus, email jonny.acheson@salesharks.com.