16 hours ago
Jags For Good launch annual Partick Thistle season ticket fundraiser
Jags For Good have launched their annual fundraiser to distribute season tickets to local charities and Partick Thistle supporters struggling with the cost of living.
The fans' group, comprised of volunteers who campaign for social justice, have raised around £30,000 over the past three years to provide an opportunity to attend games at Firhill for those who would be otherwise unable to do so.
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Now in its fourth year, Jags For Good are hoping to raise £5,000 via the fundraiser – and Neil Cowan, a founding member of the group, is asking fans who can afford it to consider donating to the cause. At the time of publication, £2,640 has already been raised.
The scheme's short-term benefits are obvious, but it has also had the long-term effect of adding a few converts to the red-and-yellow army, as Cowan explains.
'This is the fourth season,' he said. 'We first launched the fundraiser in 2022 and we've done it every year since.
'In total, we've raised the best part of £30,000 over the last three years. This year we have set a target of £5,000 initially. It's a bit lower because people have been finding it tough financially over the past few years.
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'We're running it again because we've seen the impact it's had in the last few years. We've had loads of nice messages from people saying, 'I wasn't a Thistle fan before, but I came along with my son or daughter and we're now hooked and love the club'.
'We fundraise for season tickets for local charities we work with so people can use them, and that was the idea initially. But then we opened it out to Jags fans who are struggling with the cost of living; people who in years gone by would come to Firhill, but who are maybe finding it a bit tough financially and can only come to one or two games a year.
'If you're struggling to come to games, just email us and you'll get a ticket no questions asked. You don't have to prove anything, we just take you at your word. So we had quite a few people last season and the year before getting tickets because of that.
'We're doing that again this year. We will give tickets to some local charities that support refugees, low-income families and people experiencing homelessness in north west Glasgow, as well as Jags fans who are struggling a bit financially. You can contact us and we'll help you out with a ticket, provided there are enough to go around.'
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Jags For Good work alongside a variety of charities based in the north east of Glasgow, aiding people from all walks of life in an attempt to make Firhill as welcoming and inclusive as they possibly can.
As has been the case in previous years, the club will match the final sum raised by supporters and donations are welcome until the end of July.
Cowan said: 'We've distributed tickets to loads of different charities: the Partick Thistle Charitable Trust, who do amazing work; Maryhill Integration Network, who mostly work with asylum seekers and refugees in Maryhill; Includem, a charity who work with families; there's a charity that work with low-income families; there's one who work with people with drug and alcohol addictions – all sorts of charities.
'When the tickets go to them, they generally go to people who haven't been to see Thistle before. We know that quite a lot of people, for good or for ill, catch the Thistle bug and suffer alongside the rest of us every Saturday!
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'Season tickets are only valid for league matches so we will be running our fundraiser through July and we'll probably close it around a week-and-a-half before the first home league match [against Greenock Morton on 9 August] so that we have time to collate everything, buy the tickets and then give them out to people.
'The other great thing is, as they have every year, the club are going to match every penny we raise. If we raise five grand, it'll be ten grand's worth of season tickets that are distributed. So if someone donates a tenner, really it's 20 quid.
'It's pretty cool. It's the whole thing about coming along to Firhill – even if we don't win, it makes you feel part of a community and that's really what it's all about. Thistle is a community club and we should be an extension of that community, and we should be as inclusive as possible. This is a relatively small way of making that a reality.
'There is a small group of us, and it is a good wee group of folk who do matchday collections and things like that. We are volunteers doing this in our spare time but I think we all see the value in it. We enjoy it and see the good that it does, and it is also a great thing to be a part of – using Thistle for the greater good.'
You can donate to Jags For Good's season ticket fundraiser here.
