Manchester Remembers have managed to raise over a whopping £35,000 thanks to this year’s charity football match. Incredible stuff.
The charity match set up to raise money for organisations supporting the families of the Manchester Arena victims has now become an annual occurrence and following the 2023 exhibition back in May, those who participated as either a player or a spectator helped bring in over £35k in donations.
Playing at Oldham Athletic‘s Boundary Park stadium in front of thousands of Mancunians and high-spirited spectators cheering on the Celebs and the Legends in equal measure, the game might have ended 7-5 to the ex-pros, but the real winner on the day was Manchester without a doubt.
The two men behind setting up the event, Aaron Lee and Paul Corrigan, shared this update with their followers on Thursday, 22 June, showing their immense total of £35,184.14 in funds raised. A moment to be proud of.
£3️⃣5️⃣, 1️⃣8️⃣4️⃣.1️⃣4️⃣ !!! 🐝
THIRTY FIVE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY FOUR POUNDS #Thankyou to all that came along and supported this years event. We are so proud to be building something special.
— The McrRemembers Foundation™️⚽️🐝 (@McrRemembers) June 22, 2023
All told, with this year’s tally tacked on, Manchester Remembers has now raised well over £110k for charities associated with the 2017 Arena tragedy in just a few short years.
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Speaking to The Manc, co-founder Aaron Lee said: “Myself and Paul would like to say a huge thank you to each and every person that helped bring the event to life. There are too many people to name individually but you all know who you are. To be able to hand over such a huge sum of money makes us really proud and we know the charities will use it to continue supporting young people to achieve their dreams in music, sports and the arts.”
We are always blown away by how Mancs come together in times of struggle but to see our city and the surrounding Greater Manchester area continuing to offer their support for causes like this year after year is a testament to how this community always look after their own.
With sporting legends like Danny Simpson, Ricky Hatton, Wes Brown and more turning up to have a kickabout, not to mention celebrities like Jason Manford, Lloyd Griffiths, Danny Miller and countless others, the word really is getting out about this game.
With a growing reputation, numerous famous faces showing up each and every year and the cause being as special and important as ever, we guarantee the 2024 Manchester Remembers charity match will be even bigger — just make sure you’re there.
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Big up every single one of you who attended or simply donated on the day and it goes without saying that wholeheartedly recommend grabbing yourself a ticket for next year.
Featured Image — Manchester Remembers (via Twitter)
News
Family pay tribute to father-of-two killed in Rochdale plane crash
Daisy Jackson
The family of a man killed in a light aircraft crash in Rochdale have paid tribute to a ‘deeply loving father and devoted husband’.
36-year-old Arian Abbasi was one of two men killed when an aircraft crashed into farmland in Littleborough in Rochdale last week, after travelling from Birmingham.
Emergency services rushed to the scene shortly after 11am on Tuesday 3 February, but sadly pronounced both men dead at the scene.
It’s believed there was no one else on board the aircraft, and there were no reported injuries on the ground.
Now, Arian’s family have issued a moving tribute to him. He was a pilot from Harrow in Greater London.
They described him as being a ‘deeply loving’ family man, whose passion was flying.
He was about to embark on a new chapter with a commercial airline in just a few weeks’ time.
His family said: “He lived his life for his family and friends, giving them his constant love, strength, and support.
“Flying was his passion, and he was on the brink of beginning an exciting new chapter with a commercial airline on 23 February; a dream he had worked toward with immense pride and determination.”
GMP investigations are now focused on finding part of the parachute system which contains propellant and hasn’t yet been located.
Finding the device has been ‘very difficult’ due to the nature of the terrain and the wide area over which it may have travelled.
It measures approximately 10 cm in diameter and 30 cm long and has a red anodised finish. It weighs less than 2 kg. It may have a silver metal collar attached at one end.
GMP said: “Please do not handle the device if you see it. If discovered, contact the police immediately via 101 or our Live Chat at gmp.police.uk, quoting log 1056 of 03/02/26.”
Homeless children in Greater Manchester will now get free bus travel to and from school
Emily Sergeant
Children who are currently living in temporary housing in Greater Manchester are set to get extra support with school travel.
In a move that was announced by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) at the end of last week, and following years of campaigning, homeless children living in temporary accommodation are now set to get free school travel on all Bee Network buses.
TfGM says it understands that some children end up a long way from their school when placed into temporary accommodation, and this leaves parents or carers with the difficult choice of either having to move them to a closer school, which ultimately disrupts their education, or having to pay unexpected travel costs.
While the Greater Manchester Strategy – which is the plan for the city region’s next decade – commits to reducing the number of families and children in temporary accommodation, and measures are also being taken to make sure residents have the support they need to ‘access, improve, and retain’ a decent, affordable home, this doesn’t tackle the immediate issue.
Homeless children in Greater Manchester will now get free school bus travel / Credit: TfGM
So, to help those families when they ‘need it most’, free bus travel to and from school is set to be provided, as subject to approval of this year’s Combined Authority budget.
The move comes after Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham asked TfGM last year to look at options to help with the cost of travel.
“Using our locally-controlled Bee Network buses to support families when they need it most is the right thing to do,” Andy Burnham commented.
Of course, the long-term solution is no kids in TA and we’re working with our councils to achieve this in the next few years.
We can do it because GM will soon hit the point where we are building more council and social homes every year than we’re losing through right-to-buy. 👍🏻
“A move into temporary accommodation is often a massive upheaval for families and can be a worrying time. With this measure, the cost of travel to school will be one less thing for families to worry about.
“It will mean parents and carers don’t have to choose between an extra demand on their household budget and keeping their children with friends and teachers they know and trust.”
Danny Jones -
23rd June 2023 
