South Western Railway's James is a Non-League Day hero

South Western Railway's James is a Non-League Day hero

Wednesday 04th October 2017
SWR guard and founder of Non-League Day urges people to attend matches
Prostate Cancer UK official charity partner of the day
Non-League Day takes place across the country on 7 October

Non-League Day will return for an eighth consecutive season on Saturday 7th October 2017. With England playing on 8 October and no Premier League or Championship games scheduled, the date provides a platform for clubs to promote the importance of volunteer-led community football, while empowering fans to show support for their local non-League side.

The annual event will see football clubs from across the non-league pyramid encouraged to raise awareness of the disease and money for Prostate Cancer UK.

The Non-League Day team have been working with leading men’s health charity Prostate Cancer UK since 2014, and supporters are being encouraged to use their weekend off to get behind their local side.

James Doe, who is a Waterloo based guard with South Western Railway (SWR), is founder of Non-League Day and said:

“When I found out that FirstGroup and South Western Railway also work in partnership with Prostate Cancer UK, I got in touch to see if we could work together to promote Non-League Day to help raise thousands of pounds for the charity. “Teams in several key towns on the SWR network will be hosting games and my recommendations would be the matches at Corinthian Casuals (Tolworth), Metropolitan Police (Thames Ditton), Woking, Basingstoke Town, Salisbury and Weymouth to name just six.”

Andy Mellors, South Western Railway’s Managing Director said:

“We are very proud of James and the unstinting work he does in his spare time to raise funds for Prostate Cancer UK through Non-League Day. “Prostate Cancer UK has been FirstGroup’s employee-voted charity of choice since 2012 with a three year objective of raising £1m to help stop this disease being a killer.”   “Since James founded the day in 2010, it has gone from strength to strength thanks to his hard work and the work of the Non-League team, and I would certainly encourage more fans to attend games and more clubs to take part in the day to show their support for this very deserving charity.”

James Beeby, Director of Fundraising at Prostate Cancer UK, said:

“The power of football consistently helps us reach out to men and their friends and families, and we are very grateful to James, South Western Railway and FirstGroup for the continued backing as we continue to raise money and awareness throughout the grassroots game in innovative ways. “We’re delighted once again that non-league fans will join the fight against prostate cancer and raise vital funds for Prostate Cancer UK. The money raised by clubs and their fantastic fans will fund ground-breaking research to help fight the disease. That will help us provide dedicated support and information to men and their families affected by this disease. We thank everyone involved for joining the fight.”

To find out more and to discover which games are taking place locally, details are available on the Non-League Day website at: www.nonleagueday.co.uk

Fans can also show their support and get a Prostate Cancer UK ‘Man of Men’ pin badge to wear with pride on Non-League Day. All they need to do is text BADGE to 70004 to Donate £5. Texts cost £5 plus the normal network charge (obtain bill payers permission) and the charity receives 100% of the donation. www.prostatecanceruk.org/whostheman for more details.

About Non-League Day

  • Non-League Day was set up in 2010 with the aim of boosting attendances at non-league grounds across the country on an international weekend when the country’s top clubs have the week off. The event has become a well-established part of the football calendar and is now in its fifth year.
  • Premier League and Championship clubs and their players often promote matches at neighbouring non-league clubs, with many offering special events and incentives to get extra people in.

About Prostate Cancer UK

  • Prostate Cancer UK has a simple ambition – to stop men dying from prostate cancer.
  • As the number of men diagnosed with prostate cancer continues to rise (making it the most common of all cancers by 2030), now is the time to take control. Through shifting the science over the next 10 years to focus on radical improvements in diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and support, we will stop prostate cancer being a killer.
  • Ignoring prostate cancer won’t beat it, so join the fight.

Key Headline Statistics

  • More than 11,000 men die from prostate cancer in the UK each year – that's one man every 45 minutes.
  • It’s the most common cancer in men, with over 330,000 living with and after the disease in the UK.
  • Prostate cancer is set to become the most commonly diagnosed cancer of all in the UK by 2030 - which is why we must all act now to curb its power to kill.
  • Men over 50, black men and men with a family history of prostate cancer all face a higher than average risk of the disease.
  • Prostate cancer treatment often causes devastating, long term side-effects.  Incontinence and erectile dysfunction strike at the heart of what it means to be a man
  • Anyone with concerns about prostate cancer may contact Prostate Cancer UK's Specialist Nurses in confidence on 0800 074 8383 or online via the Live Chat instant messaging service: www.prostatecanceruk.org. The Specialist Nurse phone service is free to landlines and open from 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday with late opening until 8pm on Wednesdays.
  • Visit prostatecanceruk.org now to help beat this disease.