STARS from Hollyoaks and the world of sport will come to St Helens to do battle on the football pitch for charity.
The event is being held at FC St Helens, on Windleshaw Road, Dentons Green, on Wednesday (May 8) in aid of AB UK (Autism Beaudon Understanding Kindness).
Organiser of the charity match, Dave Sargent, understands the challenges of parenting an autistic child, after his youngest son Oliver, aged four, recently diagnosed.
Dave said the confirmation of their child's condition has spurred the family into increasing awareness, and educating people who may not know or understand the condition fully.
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The more Dave grew to understand about the condition, the more he realised he has friends and people in his circle who also have a connection to autism either through a child or relative.
It was then that Dave decided he wanted to reach out to a local charity to organise an event, through research and articles Dave found the AB UK charity to see how he could support and get involved, with the idea of hosting an event to raise awareness and funds.
Through his connections in sports Dave reached out to a number of sportsmen including stars from the worlds of football and rugby league.
Former Wigan Warriors captain Sean O’Loughlin, ex-Saints Mickey Higham, boxer Anthony Crolla, darts player Joe Cullen, and ex-footaballers including Nathan Ellington and John Filan will be joining in on the day alongside Hollyoaks stars and former I’m A Celeb campmate Nick Pickard.
Dave said: “I’m really looking forward to putting on a show and it's going to be a laugh watching rugby lads put their football boots on”.
Dave's ultimate goal is to work with schools in order to educate individuals earlier on in life on the subject of autism and have a positive impact on society.
The event is going to be held at Windleshaw Sports in St Helens, home of FC St Helens alongside some very special guests and two line-ups with huge raffles and auctions on the night.
- To find the more about the AB UK Charity visit this link: https://abukcharity.co.uk/. Buy tickets on Eventbrite here.
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