Staff from two of North Staffordshire’s major employers scored a win for charity, raising almost £8,000 at a football match arranged by a colleague battling leukaemia.
Teams from Michelin and JCB took part in the fundraiser for Leukaemia Care, organised by Michelin Training Instructor Brian Bennett, who has been receiving support from the charity since being diagnosed in October 2021, as previously reported by Daily Focus.
The event on Sunday was attended by around 250 people and saw the match finishing 3-3 with JCB winning on penalties.
It raised £7,800, with a large chunk of the amount coming from a raffle and auction with prizes such as a Porche race day at Silverstone, a donation from Michelin.
Brian, aged 49, who has worked for Michelin in Stoke for 27 years, originally hoped to raise £3,000 from the event, which was the idea of his brother Ken Bennett, who works for JCB Heavy Products in Uttoxeter.
Brian said: “It was a competitive game, not a friendly. Everyone wanted to win.
“It was a great day and I’m really pleased with how everything went.”
The football match at Michelin Athletic Club, in Stoke-on-Trent, was followed by a family fun day but also served as an event to raise awareness of the shortage of stem cell donors.
Brian has tried other treatments but has not found one that is compatible so has been referred to The Christie Hospital in Manchester, the largest cancer centre in Europe, and will be going onto the stem cell transplant list.
A dozen people in attendance on the day have since registered to become potential stem cell donors.
Brian added: “Less than three per cent of the UK population is on the UK donor list, yet during the 90 minutes of our football game, 200 people would have been diagnosed with blood cancer worldwide.
“We’re really trying to raise awareness of how people can help and how simple the donation process is.”
Information about being a stem cell donor is available via the Anthony Nolan and DKMS: UK charities.
For more information about Leukaemia Care, or the condition, click here.
To donate to Brian’s fundraiser, visit his page here.
