Charity match raises £47,000 in aid of Smile for Joel and Compton Hospice
More than £47,000 was raised through a celebrity charity football match in aid of a charity set up in memory of a family killed in the Tunisia terror attack and Compton Hospice.
The star-studded contest at Walsall's Banks's Stadium last month saw a host of high-profile names take to the pitch with glamour model Katie Price and X Factor winner Shayne Ward leading out the two sides.
Others celebs included EastEnders actors Jake Wood and Dean Gaffney as well as Billy Wingrove and Jeremy Lynch from the F2Fresstylers YouTube channel.
Calum Best and former Wolves player Jamie O'Hara were also in the line-ups.
The event raised money for Smile for Joel and Compton Hospice.
The Smile for Joel charity, which helps families of people killed in homicides, was set up in memory of Joel Richards, aged 19, from Wednesbury, who was killed alongside his uncle Adrian Evans, from Bilston, grandfather Patrick Evans, from Wednesbury, and 35 others in Sousse in 2015.
A total of £47,226 was raised from the match.
Joel's mother Suzy Richards said on the day: "The support has been fantastic since day one. The ripples of what happened have effected so many people. I just cannot thank everyone enough for their support.
"Everyday for us is still hard as you can imagine. But we have to try and get through it the best we can. We went from a family of six to a family of three just by going on holiday."
After the final total was announced Sue Chance, head of fundraising at Compton Hospice said: “Thank you to everybody who turned out to support this celebrity football match.
"All of the celebrities taking part gave their time for free to raise funds for Compton and Smile for Joel, who we were honoured to team up with for such a fantastic event.
"We are delighted the match has raised £23,613 for each charity which will go a long way to supporting patients and their families living with the effects of life limiting illnesses here at Compton Hospice and out in the community."
Wayne Thomas, commercial manager at Walsall Football Club added: “We at Walsall Football Club were delighted to play a small part as the host venue for the Smile for Joel v Compton Hospice charity game.
"It was a truly memorable day for both charities and spectators and we are delighted at the amount it raised in total."
