Who cares about the past, the present and the future of Rugby League? Well, we know you do and that’s why a unique and exciting new charity has been launched to help you, help us make a difference.
Rugby League Cares unites everyone in the game – from star player to the newest fan. And it costs less than the price of a cup of coffee a month for you to play a major role. Supported by England’s World Cup squad, Rugby League Cares invests every penny raised into valuable resources for the Rugby League family.
The work of Rugby League Cares can be split into three areas.
It helps Our Heroes – the phenomenal work of the Rugby League Benevolent Fund will come under the umbrella of RL Cares. It will continue to provide support, both financial and social, to those in the RL family who suffer life-changing injuries or find themselves in hardship.
It’s amazing how much difference the help of the Benevolent Fund has made to so many lives. The ambassador for Our Heroes is Pete Stephenson, who broke his neck in a freak accident playing for amateur side Hull Dockers. Doctors told him he would never walk again. But he proved the Doctors wrong.
He says: “ When an accident like that happens you don’t know where to turn. Having the Benevolent Fund people there was invaluable.
They were there from day one with help and support. They provided finance for my family to come and see me in hospital in Pinderfields at Wakefield. They helped with my rehab, advised me and supported me to go to University to learn a new skill so I could get back to work.
“It’s incredible support. Everyone who supports Rugby League Cares can’t begin to realize how much they are helping.”
It protects Our Heritage – keeping safe the game’s history by looking after the official RFL archive and providing funds to help keep together some amazing collections.
(Psst! Exciting plans to put Rugby League’s history on public display will be announced later this year.)
It also helps support the many Past Players associations and will create a new central Past Players association.
The ambassador for Our Heritage is Ray French, respected journalist, broadcaster and former player.
He says:“ There’s a terrific history in the game and protecting it is vital. Now, because of RL Cares, we all have a chance to help make sure that future generations can enjoy and appreciate some of the great deeds of yesteryear.
“It will also keep involved in our game a lot more of our favourite players from years gone by, as well as giving RL Cares members more chance to meet some of their heroes.”
And RL Cares looks to the future and Our Hopes – it encourages great projects that give more people more chance to play the game we love. It supports junior and under-represented groups who want to be part of the sport. If someone wants to champion rugby league but can’t because of social, geographical or economic reasons, we’ll support those champions to make it happen.
The Ambassador for Our Hopes is England RL captain, Kevin Sinfield. He says: “ In a World Cup year we have a fantastic opportunity to leave a legacy that involves more people than ever playing rugby league.
“By supporting Rugby League Cares we can all ensure that the inevitable growing interest in our game can be turned into more and more people, of all ages and backgrounds, getting involved and playing Rugby League.”
We’d ask anyone with a love for Rugby league to become part of the family and join Rugby League Cares. For £2 a month you’ll receive exclusive invites to many of our organized events, you’ll get the chance to volunteer on many of our exciting projects and you’ll receive regular newsletter about what we’re getting up to.
But, most importantly, you’ll know you are making a big difference. Thanks to our wonderful sponsors and supporters at Comic Relief, Engage Mutual, the RFL, the NHS and ISC, every penny you donate goes straight to work in making that difference.
State of Mind and RL Cares have been working together for the past two years and we are grateful for the outstanding support we have received so far to take State of Mind to the levels we have already reached with further developments to come. State of Mind would ask you to support RL Cares by becoming a member, if you can.
Join us by visiting www.rugbyleaguecares.org
And follow us on twitter at @RLCares