Hooray Henry!

Published 11 Aug 2010 09:30 0 Comments

Henry Templeton, a hero to an entire generation of Ayr United supporters, returned to Somerset Park on Saturday, to help with the official launch of the Panda Pals 1000 campaign. The initiative is being driven by a group of Ayr fans, to raise enough funds to provide free season tickets to 1000 young supporters under 12 years of age. The double boost for the club is that the proceeds from the purchase of the tickets will be ring fenced to boost the playing budget.

The delight of fans was clear from the moment Henry arrived and met some of them in the club shop before the match, where Ronnie McJannet and his staff presented him with a No.7 shirt as a memento.

The 80s legend enthused about his time at Somerset “I Always love coming back to Ayr. I had so many happy times and have brilliant memories. The relationship with the fans is very special to me". In endorsing the initiative he continued. "I think this is a fantastic idea, getting local kids supporting the local team. That's the way it should be." 

At half-time, the first group of youngsters to benefit from the initiative, members of Caledonian Boys Club in Prestwick, welcomed Henry onto the pitch holding cards in the air spelling out “Henry Templeton” and on the reverse side “Panda Pals 1000” . Henry and the Panda Pals then made their way down to the Somerset Road end where the home fans gave him a returning hero’s welcome.

 

Spokesman for the campaign, Mark Pettigrew said. “We can’t thank Henry enough for his support. Thanks to the generosity of Ayr fans and local businesses, we were able to hand over 34 tickets on Saturday. But more impressive, is the fact that we asked for donations to match the requests we’d received for 186 tickets by the weekend. Before kick-off, we had already received enough money to do just that. But we still want to reach our target of 1000 Panda Pals season tickets and need the fans and wider community to help with donations.” He continued. “We’d also like to thank the players who warmed up for the game wearing Panda Pals 1000 tee-shirts in support of the campaign.”

If you want to help the campaign, there are four ways to make a donation. Cheques made out to “Ayr United Development Society Panda Pals 1000” can be posted to Panda Pals 1000 c/o Ayr United Development Society, Somerset Park, Tryfield Place, Ayr KA8 9NB. Cash or cheque payments can be made in person at the Ayr United Development Society Office at Tryfield Place Mon- Friday and on Saturdays on match days. You can also make payment securely online via Bacs transfer or pay in at any branch of any bank Sort code: 83-15-26 Account No: 10098166 Ayr United Development Society.

Anyone who’s interested in helping out should email enquiries@pandapals.co.uk.

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This article appeared in Cumnock Chronicle 11 Aug 10

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