Aptus sponsors team in charity football tournament

Aptus has a proud history of getting active for a good cause and over the years our colleagues have enthusiastically taken part in everything from Taylor Wimpey North West’s ‘Beat The Builder’ triathlon to dragon boat racing for Derian House, and much more.

Post-pandemic we’re excited to be making a return to our team fundraising activities by sponsoring a team to compete in Lancashire’s historic charity football competition the Orphanage Cup!

Aptus are entering a team into the 11-a-side football tournament based in Blackburn, which will be managed by Operations Director Mark Clegg.

Trainee multi-utility design engineers Tom Ormisher and Alfie Evans used their ‘donate-a-days’ – which are gifted by the company to do something good for charity – to attend the launch event held at the Lancashire FA headquarters in Leyland this March.

Businesses from across the region were welcomed to a special breakfast to find out more about the North West footballing institution, which is organised annually by Child Action North West (CANW) in collaboration with the Lancashire Football Association.

Attendees even had a sneak preview of their competition as the rivals squared off during a cross bar challenge. The event also featured the live draw to decide how the 36 businesses taking part would line up against each other when the tournament kicks off this April.

Tom Ormisher, who is organising the team’s training sessions, explains more:

“The cup is a charity event raising money for CANW (Child Action North West) whose mission is ‘to support children, adults and families across the country, ensuring that when life presents difficult circumstances, we’re there every step of the way to make sure they get the support they need’.

“It is a straight knockout football competition for businesses only, or organisations that have employed staff, and the players must be an employee or sub-contractor to the company or organisation at the time of the competition.

“We have had a lot of interest from staff with about 20 people turning up to the training sessions at Bolton Arena on Monday nights after work.

“We have been drawn against the team H&T Presspart for the first game. They were the 2021 Orphanage Cup winners, so we are likely to be in for a tough start to the competition.”

Team Aptus will play their first match in their custom-made football kits at 6pm on Thursday 4th May at Pleasington Playing Fields in Blackburn (BB2 5LE). We wish them every luck and will no doubt have a cheering squad on the side line to support them on the day!

Orphanage Cup background
The Orphanage Cup tournament has been running since 1932 and has raised more than £100,000 for Child Action Northwest (CANW), which started life at Blackburn Orphanage and supports over 10,000 children, young people and vulnerable adults every year.

You can find out more about the tournament’s history or donate at Orphanage Cup 2023.

Published on 19th April 2023