Tees Charity’s Ten Grand Giveaway

One of Teesside’s oldest football clubs has celebrated the forthcoming 75^th anniversary of its formation by winning a £2,500 jackpot – and is set to welcome two Boro stars too!

Grangetown Boys Club topped a public poll to scoop the biggest share of the £10,000 Goalden Giveaway, run by charitable movement Middlesbrough and Teesside Philanthropic Foundation.

Formed during the Second World War in 1941, the Grangetown club took 27% of nearly 3,500 votes cast in the poll – and that means its senior team and eight junior sides are set to be kitted out in new tracksuits.

Peter Quantrill, the club’s vice-chairman, first team coach and under-15s assistant manager, said: “It is amazing to win £2,500. I was actually shaking when I received the cheque. It means so much to the kids.

Along with new equipment including cones and balls, they plan to spend much of their windfall on badged tracksuits for all players.

“We want the kids to feel like they are part of something here, so ensuring they wear the same colour and same badge will help to emphasise that,” added Peter, who lives in Normanby.

South Bank-born Peter, who has been involved with the club since joining as a player 25 years ago, said: “This club is massive for the area. It’s keeping kids off the street but also giving them enjoyment of the sport and teaching them important life skills such as respect for others.

Along with the £2,500 donation, the football club also wins a forthcoming visit from two Boro stars, thanks to the support of Foundation patrons Middlesbrough FC.

Peter was joined by Trevor Coulton, another long-serving member of the Grangetown backroom team, at an event at Boro’s Riverside Stadium, where they were presented with a £2,500 cheque by two of the Philanthropic Foundation’s patrons, David Henderson of px Group and Paul Gibson of Active Chartered Financial Planners.

Other Goalden Giveaway winners were:

• Hartlepool Burn Road Youth Athletics Club – £1,500 for equipment for a group run by dedicated volunteers.
• SNAPS – £1,000 presented by Harriet Spalding of Mandale Group and Helena Pinder of Middlesbrough FC to support the members and families of the Stockton disabilities group.
• RECIPE – £1,000 presented by Shaun Hughes of Erimus Insurance Brokers to boost a scheme providing walks and camping for homeless and addicts.
• Teesside Rangers FC – £1,000 presented by Karen Eve of Castlegate Shopping Centre and individual patron Alastair Waite to replace stolen goals for the Netherfields club.
• NEPACS – £750 presented by Sue Theobald of Barclays Middlesbrough for toys for children visiting their parents at Holme House & Kirklevington prisons.
• Hardwick Youth Football Club – £750 to buy equipment for a club that has suffered arson and burglaries.
• Young at Heart – £500 presented by Joanne Regan of Evolution for equipment for the Stockton dementia group.
• East Middlesbrough Parents Network – £500 presented by Lisa Preston and Georgina Evans of Hunters estate agents for family adventures for the socially deprived.
• Middlesbrough Sportability Club – £500 presented by Jamie Brown of Endeavour The Foundation was set up in 2011 with the aim of helping to make Teesside a better place to live, work and do business.

Karen Eve, of Foundation patrons Castlegate Shopping Centre in Stockton said:

“We congratulate every one of the organisations that will benefit from a share of the £10,000.

“It’s heartwarming to know that the Foundation is giving ten champions of the local community a real boost as part of our ongoing commitment to making Teesside a better place in which to live, work and do business.

“This is exactly the sort of great scheme that convinced Castlegate to become patrons of this great charity.”

The Philanthropic Foundation plans another £10,000 Goalden Giveaway in October.