Signed Wolves shirt raffled off by club legend Steve Bull raises £1,500 for hospital charity
Football fans kicked off the new season in style by raising £1,500 for charity after a signed Wolves shirt was raffled off by club legend Steve Bull.
Landlord Wayne Parker had hoped to raise £1,000 for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) Charity as part of the NHS’s 75th birthday celebrations.
But the appearance of 306-goal club record goalscorer Bully ensured The New Pheasant pub in Wednesfield was packed to the rafters for the draw.
Half the target amount again was raised after 300 generous people – mostly Wolves fans – snapped up £5 tickets from the Wood End Road pub and at New Cross Hospital, only a few goal kicks away.
Molineux legend Bully, 58, pulled out the winning number of Nick Cox, 40.
He was unable to attend due to a prior engagement, so Wayne, 59, called him with the good news.
“I was shocked to win to be honest because I never usually win anything,” said Nick, a HGV driver of Wednesfield, who took his daughter Ella Cox, aged seven, to receive the shirt on Monday.
Nick’s girlfriend and mum both work at New Cross Hospital – Keeley Dixon, 32, in dermatology and mum Tracey Hindley is a kitchen assistant in catering.
He added: “I’m chuffed – I’m going to get it framed and it’s going to take pride of place in my man cave.
"I’m not a big football fan but I was more attracted by the cause really.
"My granddad, Jim Cox, had his bowel removed at New Cross and they looked after him really well.”
Amanda Winwood, The RWT Charity development manager, said: “What a fantastic amount of money raised – and well done Nick! Our staff and patients will be delighted with this.
“We’re very grateful to Steve, everyone at The New Pheasant, Wednesfield Taxis and all those who bought tickets.”
Wayne said: “Thanks to everyone, this has been a really successful fundraiser – and the hospital is the biggest beneficiary.”
The Wolves shirt has been signed by all of last season’s squad and comes with a certificate of authenticity.
It was donated to the pub by Wednesfield Taxis, which provides transport for Wolves, and arranged for Bully – who was joined by Jane Stevenson, MP for Wolverhampton North East – to attend the presentation.
Jim Sharma, owner of Wednesfield Taxis and a regular in the pub, had the idea of raffling it off to raise funds for RWT.
He said: “It was a great gesture by Bully and I was only too happy to arrange it as Wayne has been a good mate for many years and I’m always keen to support our local hospital.”
Through his Steve Bull Foundation and the Promise Dreams charity, the former England international has been a donor for The RWT Charity over the years and he also donated personal protective equipment and care packs to staff during the pandemic.
