Curzon Ashton
BELIEVE AND ACHIEVE
The Trust was set up in 2014 to honour the memory
of my son Alex Williams, from Tameside, Alex was hit
by meningitis at the age of just 7. Although confined
to a wheelchair from that point on, Alex
never allowed the condition to hold
him back and dedicated himself
to being a positive influence,
becoming an ambassador for
the Meningitis Trust.
Throughout his young life
until his tragic death in 2012
at the age of 18, Alex made
“Believe and Achieve” his
motto, doing much to raise
awareness of meningitis
symptoms
among
the
local community, becoming
involved in parasports and
doing everything he could to help
others. He was an inspiration to all
around him. I knew the only way for me
to carry on was to continue the work that Alex
was so passionate about.
The Believe and Achieve Trust now disburses
grants to applicants across Tameside who are either
young people and families affected by meningitis, or
young people up to the age of 18 who are in need
of support in order to “Believe and Achieve” in any
sporting field, because it was one of Alex’s driving
beliefs that sport should be inclusive. Providing that
applicants meet a certain set of requirements, the
Trust can help with a grant of any size up to £2,000.
In our first two year alone, the Trust awarded over
£18,000 in grants.
One of the causes closest to Alex’s heart was
Oldham Athletic, and we were pleased to award a
grant to the club’s Academy, which allowed young
local players who would otherwise have been unable
to buy the right kit to do so. Tony Philliskirk, the
former Latics centre-forward who is now the highly
successful Head of Youth at the club, says:
“The Trust’s help provides some financial
support to help the less privileged
lads in our Academy. The boys get
very good coaching here and it’s
really important that they turn
up looking the same, it makes
them feel part of the team.
You can’t underestimate
the value of the donations,
not just in pounds, but
the emotional value, the
confidence it gives the boys
– going forward, it’s a very,
very positive thing.”
Believe and Achieve also
supports the Tameside Titans,
a dedicated disability sports club,
which offers activities including football,
dance, swimming, athletics and cycling at
venues including Crossley Playing Fields, the Copley
Centre, Denton Pools and Richmond Park.
This last year, and going forward we’ve been proud
to be a part of Curzon Ashton Football Club which is a
local football club to us who share the same ethos as
us, which is to promote community activity and allow
everyone to be included! The feel of the club to us is
perfect and we love supporting them all we can.
It’s something that we feel Alex would fully approve
of: inclusive, active, and most of all, fun. Sport is such a
wonderful way of making all our lives better – we hope
you can help us continue to help making a positive
difference to the lives of those in need. Thank you.
Alison Williams, Believe and Achieve Trust
www.footballfocusmag.com
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