Wands target charity windall

Cray Wanderers are stepping up their campaign to tackle breast cancer by donating a percentage of their gate receipts on Non-League Day to the Breast Cancer Campaign.

The Wands are taking on Carshalton Athletic in the Ryman Premier on Saturday 7 September at Bromley's Hayes Lane and are hoping supporters will turn out in force to raise much needed funds to boost research into the killer disease.

To encourage a big crowd all football season ticket holders from the Premier League, Football League and other Non-League clubs will be admitted to Bromley's ground for half-price. And for every paying adult, up to four children under the age of 16 will get in free.

The club's latest effort to back the charity on Non-League Day is part of a season long fund-raising drive. On the opening day of the new season the Wands made history when they kicked off in kit bearing the logo of the Breast Cancer Campaign.

Cray - the world’s second oldest football club – are wearing the charity's logo on their match-day shirts in all league and cup games throughout the 2013-14 campaign. The Wands became the first Non-League side to make a season long commitment to the charity after manager Ian Jenkins approached them with a proposal to help raise awareness of their work and boost funding for research into the killer disease which is diagnosed in more than 50,000 people in the UK every year.

Jenkins, pictured with the new strip bearing the charity's logo, has been supporting their efforts since three members of his own family were diagnosed. His fundraising activities this year have included running the London Marathon in April and organising a charity golf day this summer.

The Wands manager said: "I have seen at first hand the damage breast cancer can do to people who contract this disease and how it affects their families. My wife Wendy, my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law all suffered from it. Fortunately they all came through.

"Charities like Breast Cancer Campaign need our support to raise funds to continue the fight against this horrible disease. I asked if the club would support the campaign and without hesitation they said yes. The game on Non-League Day is just one of several fund raising initiatives I’m planning."

Cray Wanderers Chairman Gary Hillman said: "We will be giving a percentage of our gate receipts on the 7th to the campaign. How much we are able to give will ultimately depend on how many people come to watch the game. So I would urge as many people as possible to come along and help us help fight breast cancer."

Breast Cancer is the most common form of cancer in the UK. Although the number of cases diagnosed has risen over the last thirty years, the mortality rates have continued to fall. Forty years ago the five year survival rate was around 50 per cent. Today over 80 per cent of men and women diagnosed will be alive in five years' time.

For more information on the charity visit: www.breastcancercampaign.org.