Hibs celebrated surpassing 8000 season ticket sales last week with fans showing support for the club despite the uncertainty surrounding when they will be able to return to matches.
The majority of these season tickets have been snapped up by regular supporters old and new but at least 75 of them have been purchased by Susan Linn of Leith Links, the supporters’ fund set up in 2013 to allow disadvantaged children and their families to attend matches at Easter Road.
Since its inception seven years ago Leith Links have purchased over 1000 season tickets thanks to donations from supporters, providing valuable financial backing to the club while giving young fans the chance to visit Easter Road, often for the very first time.
Susan, who is a nurse at Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary and the driving force behind Leith Links, was keen to allow fans to donate towards a fund which could be used to purchase Kicks for Kids season tickets without being asked to commit to the full price of a ticket.
“My brother is the President of the Australian and New Zealand Hibs Supporters Branch and I knew many overseas fans who wanted to contribute to Hibs but other than Hibs TV and buying items from the shop online, there weren’t many other options.
“It also seemed to appeal to the fans – who have been absolutely amazing for seven years now – as it supports a new generation of fans and mainly children who wouldn’t be able to attend games normally.”
With hundreds of tickets purchased every season, Leith Links and Hibernian allow contributors to suggest worthwhile organisations who may benefit from an invitation to attend Easter Road.
“Any group, charity or club that works to enrich the lives of children is eligible. It can be a small organisation that uses two tickets or a larger charity that can use 20. Primarily, the tickets are for children who wouldn’t be able to attend games normally, whether that be due to family illness, poverty or lack of support.
“We are keen for smaller groups that perhaps don’t receive traditional funding to get a chance of tickets and being close to Easter Road/Leith also is a factor as we want to make sure this is a lasting relationship between the children and Hibs.
“With that said, my brother donated a few years ago specifically for the Pentland Community Centre in South West Edinburgh as, according to him, there were too many Jambos around there!”
With so many tickets to be distributed every season and support for the project continuing to grow, there are some important logistical considerations when allocating the season tickets.
“Sue McLernon is the main contact for the tickets at Hibs, she has worked on Kicks for Kids since the start and she’s a great help. Sue knows all of the groups and organisations that have used tickets but she is always open to new suggestions.
“The groups then get their allocation and they distribute the tickets amongst the children based on interest levels, safeguarding and transport.”
Once the season tickets have been allocated to the selected groups it is then up to them to decide which individuals attend the matches, with rotas and reward systems put in place to encourage positive behaviour.
“We have heard of them being used as a reward, for instance for a child that has been on time for school every day or done their homework/helped out at home a lot. Some children have been heard to tell their group leader to ask their teacher if they’ve behaved so they can go to the game!”
With the initiative promoting a win-win situation for the football club and the recipients of the tickets, Susan is grateful for the support she has received from Hibs since the launch of the fund in 2013.
“Hibs have been great. They are always promoting what we do and are first to praise every new batch of tickets that we purchase. Social media has made this a lot easier, but the club’s Twitter support specifically is much appreciated and we manage a bit of banter too.
“Leeann is a great advocate of what we do, as is Kenny Millar, and I feel very privileged to have their backing. I believe there is a mutual respect there as I appreciate them subsidising the tickets and I know they buy into the notion of helping the next generation of fans and especially when these children might not be able to attend games without Kicks for Kids season tickets.”
With a significant body of work required to keep on top of fan donations and ticket purchases, Susan continues to be motivated by the impact Leith Links is making on the lives of young people across the city.
“If children can feel they ‘belong’ to our Hibs family when they might not have much else to make them smile, or feel that they are an equal member of society like everyone else, then it’s all worth it.
“Some of the children are from BAME backgrounds and after attending games found they had a whole new set of friends when they went back to school, all because another child spotted them at Easter Road.
“One child took his ticket to school on the Monday morning and told everyone it was the best day of his life! That is the difference this makes to their lives.”
With lockdown measures still in place as a result of Covid-19, Susan believes the continued backing from Hibs fans is more important than ever, with the opportunity to support the club financially while giving young people something to look forward to when normality returns.
“I have been in touch with some of the groups via Facebook and Twitter and there have been a few wonderful initiatives from our fans to raise funds for Kicks for Kids season tickets to keep spirits up.
“One generous fan auctioned his 2016 home shirt on Twitter and raised £340 and then persuaded his daughter to sell hers and that raised another £100!
“Two very generous supporters also offered to purchase full kits for two lucky children so, in conjunction with Circle DADtastic, we ran a competition to tie-in with the Hibs’ ‘Thank You NHS’ sponsorship. A drawing competition was held with an NHS theme and the kits will be on the way to the lucky winners as soon as they are available.
“As a Staff Nurse on a Covid-19 ward in the NHS this, as well as the Hibs’ sponsorship, has really spurred me on and given me something positive to focus on too.”
With all donations, big or small, pivotal to the ongoing success of Leith Links there are a number of ways people can support fundraising efforts.
“The most important thing is that fans can donate any amount as all donations are pooled, there is no minimum – we have received £2 right up to £1,000 from individuals.
“Fans looking to donate regularly can also set-up either a standing order or direct debit and some generous supporters already do this. Roughly £7 per month will purchase a Kicks for Kids season ticket.
“To date we have bought 1,058 season tickets, meaning over £80,000 has been given to Hibs and many, many more children have been given the opportunity to attend matches at Easter Road.”
Supporters looking to contribute to the 2020/21 Kicks for Kids season ticket fund can find out more at https://leithlinks4kids.com/ways-to-donate/.
The East Stand 