Colchester United will be adding an extra focus to their charitable contribution for the coming year by lending their support to four designated charities.

These four charities will receive levels of backing not previously seen and will become the club's Official Charity Partners for the 2010/11 campaign.

The U's will also be lending support to Marie Curie, the Football League's nominated Charity for the coming season, but the club's Official Charity Partners will have a more local feel.

The club's General Manager Tim Waddington said of the new initiative for the club; "We have always provided as much support as we possibly could for charities, both local and further afield, and this will continue above and beyond this new Partners scheme."

"Our four new Charity Partners will have our full support and there are numerous ways that we feel we can help them with the facilities we have at the Weston Homes Community Stadium and access to the people of Colchester and the surrounding areas."

Included in the offer to the chosen charities will be a host of superb benefits to help raise the charities profile and boost their fundraising attempts, as well as being provided with a designated U's player as their Ambassador for the year.

Having originally extended the invitation to the charities in early July, the club were inundated with many worthy causes, all keen to work with the area's leading football club in the coming season.

It took many hours of deliberation and discussion to narrow down the extensive list of charities to the final four, but the lucky quartet were invited to the Weston Homes Community Stadium ahead of the club's recent home opener against Sheffield Wednesday.

The four chosen charities were St Helena Hospice, Colchester General Hospital, Stepping Stones Children's Nursery and Essex Heartbeat.

"We are really looking forward to working with these charities," U's Media Manager Matt Hudson added.

"We were keen to select charities with a really local feel and ones that will really benefit from being associated with the club in the next season.

"We have put together what we feel will be a really useful package for the charities and we're looking forward to working with them and helping them achieve their aims!"

ST HELENA HOSPICE
Charity Profile: St Helena Hospice is for anyone who has been diagnosed with a life-limiting illness and all services are free of charge to patients and their families. The Hospice is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and offers a diverse range of services which are delivered by highly qualified teams of specialists.

These teams include nurses, social workers, counsellors, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, complimentary therapists, art and music therapists, bereavement visitors, doctors and specialist palliative care nurses.

The aim is to provide specialist care and support for patients in a relaxed and friendly setting.

St Helena Hospice is available to anyone aged 18+ for care and support, however, they also help children and young adults of all ages with bereavement support.

U's Charity Ambassador: Manager, John Ward

They Said: "We are absolutely thrilled to have been chosen as one of Colchester United's Charity Partners and are so grateful for all the support and generosity they show St Helena Hospice.

"We are looking forward to an exciting year ahead working together on lots of different activities and opportunities and are sure that this will help to raise a great deal of money for the Hospice.

"All services provided by the Hospice are free of charge to patients and their families so every penny raised will be used to continue providing much needed support and care for people throughout our community."



COLCHESTER HOSPITALS CHARITY
Charity Profile: Since Essex County Hospital was founded in 1820, hospitals in Colchester have been supported by the kindness of the people of north east Essex.

Colchester Hospitals Charity continues to co-ordinate and develop the support of the community. Their aim is to enhance and improve patient care by providing grants for projects and services that are over and above those funded by the NHS.

The Charity helps to buy extra medical equipment. For example, charitable funds were used in 2009 to buy a heart scanner exclusively for the use of children and babies at Colchester General Hospital.

Previously, equipment had been shared with adult patients or babies might be sent to London for tests.

Colchester Hospitals Charity is made up of 14 funds which cover all of the Trust's wards and departments.

There are always pieces of equipment or projects that dedicated staff across the hospitals want to purchase to improve the care they can give to their patients.

One department is currently saving up to buy a Bladder Scanner - a scan can mean the difference between keeping a patient in over night or being able to send them home.

The Breast Surgery Fund is currently raising money to buy a Digital Mammography Machine that will make diagnosis quicker and less invasive.

U's Charity Ambassador: Record signing, Steven Gillespie

They Said: ""We are really looking forward to the coming year with Colchester United and working with Steven Gillespie this season.

"The club already does so much to support the Trust, such as by sending players to visit the Children's Ward and Children's Day Unit at special times of year which make a hospital stay less daunting.

"The support of the Official Charity project will make an enormous difference to our success and enable the Charity to carry on the work that was started nearly 200 years ago caring for the people of the Colchester area. It is going to be an exciting year for all concerned!"



STEPPING STONES PLAY AND LEARN GROUP
Charity Profile: Stepping Stones is a nursery integrating children with additional needs. They have a tots group for babies with special needs and after school clubs for children with challenging needs. The group is a registered charity and non-profit making.

The group formed in 1991 to give children with special needs the opportunity to play alongside their peers, and also to give parents much needed respite care.

The children's needs range from children with Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Down Syndrome, various syndromes which result in developmental delay, blind children, deaf children and children with little or no language skills.

There are also children who are hydrocephalic or who are terminally ill and who present challenging behaviours.

The charity aims to create an environment enabling children to understand and tolerate each other's differences, to provide play activities and equipment, enabling children to enjoy developing to their full potential.

They also aim to support parents, giving them practical support, listening and guiding them to the relevant outside agencies and opportunities to talk to each other.

They Said: "We were very excited when we were told we had been chosen. Being involved with the Colchester United project is a tremendous opportunity to raise much needed funds and to raise the profile of the group.

"It sends a very positive message to our parents that their children are valued and that people care, and want to support organisations like ours who work at grassroots level.

"We are very grateful for Kem's involvement and look forward to him attending our events and meeting our children. We are really looking forward to the next few months."

U's Charity Ambassador: Club captain, Kem Izzet



ESSEX HEARTBEAT
Charity Profile: This group has been set up to provide support for patients and carers living with arrhythmia and implantable devices within the county of Essex.

The medical professionals based at the Cardiothoracic Centre in Basildon believed that a patient led Essex wide support group was urgently needed.

Essex Heartbeat was set up to support patients living with arrhythmia and who have had internal cardiac defibrillators fitted, but more importantly, support is extended to the families and friends of these patients.

The group aims to raise funds to provide external defibrillators to vulnerable community groups and environments, such as phase IV rehab, sports groups and centres. They will provide support and information, as well as interacting with other Heart Support Groups in the area to share knowledge of up to date treatments, drugs and technology.

They Said: "We are absolutely delighted to have been chosen by Colchester United as one of their charity partners for the coming year and thank them for giving us the opportunity to work together to raise funds to provide support to individuals, their family and friends across Essex.

"Another of our aims is to fundraise to provide mobile defibrillators (AEDs) to vulnerable areas of Essex, thereby hopefully saving lives.

"We are very grateful to Colchester United for their support and generosity in helping us in our efforts to achieve our aims and look forward to working alongside them in what we feel will now be a very productive and successful year for Essex Heartbeat."

U's Charity Ambassador: Vice captain, Paul Reid