York City to team up with Pavers Foundation to host Community Day in support of Ukraine Appeal

York City FC announced that our upcoming National League home game against Rochdale on Monday 28th August will be a community day in support of Ukraine Appeal.

You may have noticed at recent games the original Yorkie the Lion has returned to pitchside action. If you were wondering why he has been away, Yorkie has been working with Stuart Paver and the Pavers Foundation on numerous charitable projects.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Stuart has led work both at the border in Romania and also within Ukraine, delivering aid to Lviv, Kiev, Cherkasy, Odesa and Kherson. Yorkie is set to join Stuart in returning to Ukraine via road in September and need your help via donations to deliver much-needed stretchers and water purification tablets.

To support their campaign, York City Football Club will be working with the Pavers Foundation to organise the community day, which will include the following initiatives:

• 50 tickets to be distributed to displaced Ukrainian guests currently living in the York area
• Bucket collections around the ground to raise money for the Ukraine Appeal
• Awareness raising throughout matchday (in the official programme, stadium announcements, and more)

The fixture against Rochdale, which is a 3pm kick-off on the August Bank Holiday Monday, has been chosen as it takes place four days after Ukraine Independence Day, which is celebrated on 24^thAugust.

Our visitors Rochdale also have a strong Ukrainian Community and Rochdale was twinned with Lviv in 1992, one year after the declaration of Independence was signed. 

Since March 2022, Stuart Paver and the Pavers Foundation have raised over £330,000 for Ukraine. Every penny raised is spent on life-saving supplies and essential items, with all expenses covered by the volunteers who deliver it.