About Us
The idea of the Free Kicks Foundation was born one evening during the summer of 2006. Friends Steve Thorpe and Leigh Porter, both from Peterborough, were watching the World Cup and decided to try and combine their mutual passion of football with fundraising, resulting in the concept of setting up their very own charity. The aim of Free Kicks is to provide football-related activities for ill, bereaved and disadvantaged children, to give them a day to remember with their favourite football club.
The days out, which we call 'kicks', could involve being a team mascot, meeting a favourite player, tour of their chosen stadium, receiving a special gift or anything football related we can organise to make it a day they will never forget. The initial step was to set up a Myspace page ( www.myspace.com/freekicksfoundation ) to try and spread the word of Free Kicks to those who could possibly help in some way. Footballers, sportsmen, bands, venues and record labels in the music business, Posh fans, football fans across the country…in the space of just one month 1000 ‘friends’ had been made, ready to be called upon for help in the future.The next stage was to strengthen the team further by bringing on board two more Trustees, Sam Downing and Damon Williams, appointed due to their invaluable contributions over the previous few months. Sam particularly does a huge amount of work arranging kicks and liaising with clubs, hospitals and families.
On May 18/19th 2007 Free Kicks Foundation was successfully launched in Peterborough with a gig headlined by The Ghears, long-time friends of Snow Patrol, and a 5-a-side tournament with 16 teams from the local area. Both events were well supported and raised a considerable amount of money, enough to get the ball rolling and start planning the first ‘kicks’. The first two recipients of kicks were given the opportunity to be team mascots for Manchester Utd when they played at London Road in the pre-season friendly in August 2007. Gareth and Tim, both 12 years old, had a fantastic day out which started with them receiving a brand new Manchester Utd kit of their own, let them take a tour of the ground, train on the pitch in front of the crowd and then, ultimately, lead their favourite team out before the match.
By the end of the 2007-08 season we had completed further ‘kicks’ at Peterborough United, as well as MK Dons and Premiership giants Chelsea. So far in 2008-09 season we have already had kicks at Peterborough United, Southend United, Scunthorpe United, Northampton Town , MK Dons, Norwich City, Yeovil Town, West Bromwich Albion, Portsmouth and Hudddersfield Town, with further days out planned at Chelsea, Aston Villa, Notts County, and Colchester United.
In October 2007, after months of red-tape, form-filling and hard work, Free Kicks Foundation was granted official charity status by the Charities Commission. This was a major achievement and will give all our activities a massive boost and only serve to increase the public’s interest and trust in us. We established links with both Peterborough District Hospital and Addenbrookes Hospital our sources there nominate children they think deserve a day out as a respite from their respective illnesses. Also, as our public profile grows, we are encouraging parents or relatives to contact us if they wish to nominate a child. Meanwhile the fundraising continues apace as does the promotion of our name.
In July 2007 we received a £2000 grant from the Premier League’s Creating Chances programme as a runner’s up prize which Derby County nominated us to receive, we have been given some fantastic donations and have several more events were lined up for the beginning of 2008. These included a sponsored cycle ride to Milton Keynes for an away Posh match, a cricket match, Wear Your Football Shirt to Work/School Day and a repeat of the launch weekend, with another gig and 5 a side tournament.
In April 2008, we released a single on Itunes and also physical cd. The song was ‘Posh We Are’ the famous Peterborough United terrace anthem. It was recorded at The Voyager School in Peterborough, with the help of the school choir, football team, Posh fans and even 5 players including England Under 21 goalkeeper Joe Lewis and George Boyd.
In 2009 we embarked on our most challenging dundraiser so far, we completed a tour of all 92 English football league grounds in just 92 hours, as well as this we repeated the Wear Your Football Shirt to Work/School day, had 2 cricket matches and the renamed Adam Gardiner 5 a side tournament.
We have also been named as one of Peterborough United's charities of the year for season 2009-10 and are delighted to be part of the clubs first charity day, when the team will wear a special kit featuring the logos of the 3 nominated charities.
