BOLTON Wanderers chairman Sharon Brittan plans to brave the elements this weekend to raise money for mental health provision in the town.

Leading a group of walkers on a 20-mile hike from the University of Bolton Stadium to Accrington Stanley Football Club, donations of more than £9,000 have already flooded in via Just Giving.

All proceeds will go towards the relaunched Bolton Wanderers in the Community, which has run 33 different projects to support more than 15,000 Bolton residents in the last 12 months, including some of the most vulnerable and marginalised.

Fundraisers also include Wanderers board member Nick Luckock and chief executive Neil Hart, with the journey set to take around seven hours and the group due to arrive just before kick-off.

The club held a business breakfast and showcase event at the end of last week to relaunch Bolton Wanderers in the Community (formerly the Community Trust), which has focussed much of its work in the last 12 months on supporting local people with their mental health and wellbeing – one of the many serious consequences of lockdowns and restrictions – and in particular people who are unemployed, suffering from addiction and isolated senior citizens.

“The club’s board, Sharon (Brittan) and I are very committed to Bolton Wanderers in the Community, which is a hugely important part of the club,” said Hart, club chief executive and trustee of BWitC.

“We want to have a vibrant, active, can-do community programme and we want to play our part in the town, working with children, schools, young people and residents who are facing a variety of challenges.

“In particular, we know what’s going on in the mental well-being space at the moment, coming out of the pandemic, and the challenges that has brought for everybody.

“Bolton Wanderers in the Community is certainly playing its part in being very active in tackling that problem and many other issues and we want to embrace that.

“While we are trying to run a sustainable and stable football club and take the club forward, doing good in the community is a key part of the board’s strategy.

“Sharon and I want to be involved in that and there’s no greater demonstration of that than us walking 20 miles to Accrington on Saturday.

“That’s something we’re looking forward to. The walk has already raised a five-figure sum and I would urge supporters and stakeholders to get behind us and support us by visiting the Just Giving page and please make a donation if they can.”

The page is online at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sharon-brittan