Last month, Swindon Town received a letter from a six-and-a-half-year-old fan named Joe, which can be seen below.
Joe's letter warmed the hearts of the public, and the goodwill from the local, national and international extended football community has been incredible to see. We would like to express our sincere appreciation towards all those who have reached out and offered to support Joe.
Swindon Town Football Club, unfortunately, have to advise that despite extensive media coverage, we have not been able to locate Joe, and will have to bring the search to a conclusion.
With Joe remaining elusive, any donations and proceeds from the JustGiving page will be used to support children who are in a similar position.
Half of the money will be passed on to the Swindon Food Collective - a local independent food bank that currently feeds c.7500 people per year, of which one third are children - with whom Swindon Town FC recently announced a partnership.
The other half of the money will go to the STFC Community Foundation and will be spent on giving children and families similar to Joe's, the opportunity to experience a matchday package at SN1. STFC Community Foundation will work in partnership with local schools to identify children and families for this scheme that are experiencing financial hardship. This will allow over 300 children to enjoy a professional coaching session, have a pre-match lunch and watch a first-team match at The County Ground.
Town can confirm that if Joe was to be identified in the future, he, and his family, would be offered tickets to attend a match as a mascot, meet Harry McKirdy, and experience full VIP hospitality at The County Ground. The club would also provide season tickets for Joe and his family for the remainder of this, and next season. This would be funded by the kind donations and proceeds.
You can learn more about the Swindon Food Collective, and the STFC Community Foundation by clicking the links below.
Swindon Food Collective: https://www.swindonfoodcollective.org/
STFC Community Foundation: https://www.stfcfoundation.com/
