An historic football tournament has proved itself a winner on and off the pitch by yet again making a sizable donation, this time £7,000 to help blind and visually impaired people across the Black Country.
Committee members of the JW Hunt Cup, including president Alex Hamil, handed over the hefty sum to leading charity, Beacon Centre for the Blind and the donation will go towards helping people with sight loss in the West Midlands live fuller and more independent lives.
The JW Hunt Cup is open to amateur teams based across the West Midlands, with Black Country Rangers defeating Wolverhampton Casuals 4-3 in a thrilling match last May at Molineux Stadium. All proceeds generated during the last season, through entry fees and programme costs, will be donated to the Beacon Centre.
Renowned in the West Midlands, the competition is very much part of the sporting calendar and, since it started in 1926, the Cup has raised more than £284,000 for the Beacon Centre who are based in Sedgley supporting blind and partially sighted people.
More than 30 teams have started off on the road to glory in 2013-14, with Black Country Rangers bidding for a hat-trick having also lifted the trophy in 2011-12 and 2012-2013.
Fundraising manager at the Beacon Centre for the Blind, Jenni Fryer, said: “We are extremely proud to be associated with this historic competition, and grateful to everyone involved in the JW Hunt Cup for raising this incredible amount of money to help people who are blind or visually impaired in the Black Country.
“Sadly more than 167,000 people in the West Midlands have sight problems so all donations are vitally important to ensure we continue to offer local people the finest facilities and support, from providing permanent accommodation in Wolverhampton, to advising people about the specialist equipment available, to practical advice on living with sight loss skills.
“We are all avid football fans here at the Beacon Centre and offer our congratulations to Black Country Rangers for a fine performance last season. We’ll be watching very closely this season to see if they can pull off a third win in what we are sure will be closely fought matches throughout the competition.”