Thurso Acks donate £1200 to support frontline health workers in county
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Players and committee members at amateur football club Thurso Acks have donated £1200 to support frontline health workers in Caithness in the fight against Covid-19.
The team’s player/manager Murray Coghill said he was delighted with the response, describing it as “unbelievable” and far in excess of what he hoped they might raise.
The money is being split equally between Caithness General Hospital and Chris Aitken’s work to create personal protective equipment using 3D printing technology.
Chris and his team of helpers are producing large quantities of masks and visors for NHS staff and carers in the county.
Murray (38) explained: “We’ve got a group chat on WhatsApp so I just put it out to the committee and the players about chipping in. I said, ‘You don’t have to if you don’t want to, and you can give as little or as much as you want.’
“The boys thought it was a good idea, and the response we got was unbelievable. I thought maybe £200 or £300 would have been good, but it was just unreal.
“I put on Twitter we’d raised £1125 but then Darren Manson, who is an Acks fan and comes to all our games, gave us another £75 to make it £1200.
I was absolutely delighted... The amount of money they gave out of their own pockets was incredible.
“We’ll split it between the two of them. I’ve already given Chris his share of the money and I’ve contacted the hospital.
“I was absolutely delighted that the committee and the players all joined together and the amount of money they gave out of their own pockets was incredible.
“It has taken everybody’s breath away. To see everyone being so generous was brilliant.
“I think everyone is recognising how important it is. People need support.
“Chris and his guys are doing a lot of good work, and I’m sure the people in the hospital are needing extra stuff. They’ll not be the only ones, but they are obviously the prominent ones.”
In normal times, Acks' first division campaign in the Caithness Amateur Football Association county league would be getting under way by now. However, it remains to be seen whether there will be any summer football in 2020.
All football in Scotland was halted on March 13 and the Scottish Football Association announced last week that the suspension would remain in place until June 10 at the earliest.
Murray made it clear that a return to competitive action is not a priority given the present emergency.
“If it happens, it happens – and if it doesn’t, well, there are bigger things at stake here,” he said. “There are people losing family members, there are people losing jobs.
“The latest guidance from the SFA is June 10 – that’s eight or nine weeks of what would have been the summer season gone already.
“It would be very difficult to squeeze it in within that sort of timeframe, but it’s not really at the forefront of anyone’s mind at the moment.”
Staxigoe United, another county league club, have contributed £400 to Chris Aitken's efforts, while Highland League club Wick Academy had earlier donated £1000.
- Teacher creates 3D printed face masks for NHS workers
- Wick Academy's £1000 donation for PPE work by local teacher
