Stanley's special kit to raise awareness of veterans programme

Accrington Stanley will wear their Tiffany Glass-inspired third kit in Saturday's final game of the Sky Bet League Two season to raise awareness of the Accrington Stanley Community Trust's Veterans programme and build on the success of last month's 'Great Tommy Sleep Out' at the Wham Stadium.

Having swapped their beds for a sleeping bag, the Community Trust's participants contributed over £2,000 for the Royal British Legion Industries (RBLI) to support more than 6,000 homeless veterans across the UK.

As well as generating awareness, the club's initiative will also look to raise funds for the Trust's programme, with a selection of shirts worn by the players set to be available to purchase from the retail shop next week.

Stanley's managing director, David Burgess, said: "As a club, we are delighted to be supporting the Accrington Stanley Community Trust's Veterans programme by wearing our Tiffany Glass-inspired third kit at home to Tranmere Rovers on Saturday.

"Building on the success of last month's 'Great Tommy Sleep Out', we hope we can raise awareness of the work the Community Trust does for veterans and also raise funds for the programme to continue in the future."

Head of engagement at the Accrington Stanley Community Trust, Gabby Sabatino, added: "Our Veterans programme has grown massively in the last year, we still continue to deliver our free monthly breakfast and we now have a veterans football team who are taking part in regular 11-a-side matches.

"Recently, some of our participants volunteered to take part in the 'Great Tommy Sleep Out', not only did they raise awareness, but they contributed over £2,000 to the RBLI to support homeless veterans across the UK.

"Having likeminded people attend our session gives the participants the chance to share their experiences and lean on each other for support.

"This has led us in to being able to receive funding from the Armed Forces Covenant to start the Support Hub which will work with veterans and their families across a 12-week programme.

"We are always looking for as much support as possible from the local community to raise awareness of the opportunities we have for veterans and to encourage as many veterans and their families to attend our sessions."

For further information about the Community Trust's Veterans programme, please visit: https://www.stanleytrust.co.uk/military-veterans/