The memory of our Megs Whieldon will be honoured at Wrexham FC’s Racecourse ground with a special collection during their home tie with Aldershot Town.

Megs, from Dyserth, Denbighshire suffered with a rare genetic condition and had been attending Tŷ Gobaith with her family for therapy sessions since February 2020 – she sadly passed away in March this year aged just 10.

Her younger brother Dan is still being supported by the hospice.

The Whieldon family are huge Wrexham FC fans and even hold season tickets for The Dragons.

In conjunction with the club, volunteers and fundraisers from the hospices will be at the match on Saturday 19^th November (3pm kick-off) with collection buckets and every pound donated by fans will be match-funded by our Final Moments Matter campaign.

Part of the Wrexham family

Mum, Sue Whieldon paid tribute to her daughter by saying: “Megs really loved the football, the build-up, the music, the atmosphere and being part of a crowd.

“We went to our first match in 2016 and were made to feel so at home there and really part of the Wrexham family.

“In 2019, both the kids got to be mascots on the pitch with the team which was the highlight of the year for them.

“Megs won’t be with us on the day, but she’ll be there in spirit, definitely.

“She would have loved all the magic that is around the club at the moment.”

Sue continued: “We are so grateful to everyone at Wrexham FC for allowing Hope House and Tŷ Gobaith to hold a collection in tribute to Megs. We are especially grateful to the Disabled Supporters Association, who from day one have bent over backwards to help us.

“It’s a real privilege to know that people at the club and the fans would donate in Megs’ memory, at the place where she loved spending time. It feels like an honour.

“Football has been the thing that has helped keep Dan going since Megs passed away.

“We went to the game a few weeks after she left us because Dan feels equally at home at The Racecourse – he is surrounded by love there.”

She was a real firecracker

Sharing just one of the many memorable days at the club, Sue said: “We were very lucky to have met both Ryan Reynolds and Rob McEllhenney there.

“I told Rob about Megs’ story and he said that she sounded like a real firecracker – she certainly was.”

A spokesperson for Wrexham AFC said: “Megs was a much-loved member of our Wrexham AFC community and is sadly missed at the Racecourse Ground.

“It has been an absolute pleasure to have got to know Megs and her family as they have been season ticket holders for many years, a beautiful little girl, who will be forever 10, who adored sparkle and enjoyed her time watching Wrexham AFC with brother Dan and mum and dad, she is sadly missed.

“The work Hope House and Tŷ Gobiath do for people in our community is incredible, and very much needed, and we are proud to be able to offer them support through a bucket collection again this year.

“All our bucket collections are well supported on match-days at the Racecourse, and we would like to thank everyone in advance of any contribution they make to the Final Moments Matter campaign.”

Fundraiser Catrin Dowdeswell who helped coordinate Saturday’s collection said: “On behalf of everyone at the hospices I wold like to thank Wrexham AFC’s Disability Liaison Officer, Kerry Evans for her incredible support in making this happen, and also the Whieldons for joining with us in this very special tribute to Megs.”

36-hour campaign

Final Moments Matter is our exciting annual campaign which sees us aim to raise £500,000 in just a 36 hour period between Sunday 20^th November and Monday 21^st November, 2022.

£500,000 is the annual cost of providing the best end of life care to children and families in the area, and thanks to the generosity of some key benefactors, this year we have a £250,000 match-funding pot available which means we can meet every donation pound-for-pound to reach the target.

Find out more and see how you could help by becoming a fundraising team leader at https://www.hopehouse.org.uk/forms/final-moments-matter-team-leader-registration

The Whieldon family have set up a Just Giving page which can be found here https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/megswhieldon-fmm if you are not attending the match and would still like to donate.