Stanza

We're delighted to report that £655.11 was collected on Saturday in the DADSC buckets and online by card payments. Much of this should be eligible for Gift Aid under HMRC rules for bucket collections, so that increases the value even more. This is a magnificent result from Eddie Martin and his collection team, but more especially from you all as Pars supporters, who consistently surprise us with your generosity. Thank you. And to make the weekend even sweeter, on Monday a loyal Pars fan was prompted by the bucket collection to donate a further £300 online to the DADSC First Floor Access Fund. If you missed the collection and still want to contribute, there is a DADSC bucket on the counter in the DAFC Club Shop. You can also use a credit or debit card by going directly to our payment page on https://fifepay.co.uk/checkout/dadsc-card-payment or by using the QR code below.

Every year the Benefact Group donates thousands of pounds to UK charities, and nominations for the current (Health & Wellbeing) draw close at midnight tomorrow (Friday 26th). Please click on this link to nominate DADSC - the form is partly completed so it will only take you a minute (and cost you nothing!) https://tinyurl.com/3ppd9fwz The more nominations we receive, the greater the chance of winning £5000, the sooner we'll get a lift built at the Main Stand and the sooner our disabled fans will get access to the function suites on the first floor. So do it now, please! Thanks for your support, it's greatly appreciated.

1-1 at half time. Probably the most one-sided match I've seen for years. Pars in complete control for 45 minutes but fell behind after 22 minutes in Livi's first attack! Normal service quickly resumed, Jake Sutherland equalised and Pars continued to attack, but no more goals (so far). Entertaining match, Pars youngsters full of running, hope they can last. Big crowd, too.

Dunfermline Athletic Disabled Supporters' Club (DADSC) is holding a bucket collection before Saturday's match against Queens Park, raising funds for a lift to give our disabled fans access to the function suites in the Main Stand. If you can take part, please meet DADSC Trustee Eddie Martin at 1.30pm outside the Club Shop. It will also help Eddie plan the collection if you let him know beforehand (eddie@dafc.co.uk) that you'll be there. And if you're not collecting, please bring some cash with you to put in one of the buckets - look out for the collectors in their light blue hi-vis jackets. If you won't be there, you can also make a donation by credit or debit card via the QR link below, or go directly to the payment page HERE. As always, thank you all for your continued generosity.

To be fair to DD (must I?), he's using a guid Scots word, certainly in the West of Scotland. He spells it slightly differently from the Scottish National Dictionary, but spelling has always been flexible - particularly in the West ... https://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/sndns2594#:~:text=MOLOCATE%2C v.,2000s).

Re Dom Thomas (and others). I've never understood why fans (of all clubs) not only accept but actively support the idea that a football club should be ruthless in "moving players on" to suit the club's interests, but a player should have a different attitude and not pursue his own interests. Football is a short career, and (at our level anyway) not particularly well paid. There must be very few fans who wouldn't jump at the chance of a better-paid job in a happier environment nearer to home.

This is a lovely little video of the HT match last month between young adults from The Pars Foundation and local charity Fairway Fife, as part of DAFC and DADSC`s involvement with the Europe-wide 2024 Week of Action organised by CAFE (Centre for Access to Football in Europe). Huge thanks to Jordan and the ParsTV team for putting it together. #TotalAccess https://youtu.be/tGXgdBbsphk?si=Npc0Rde96xGxqmmA

Luke Garrard, manager of Boreham Wood FC, will be leaving at the end of the season after 8 years in post. After several good seasons the club is in the relegation zone and has had a poor run of results recently, so no big surprise. What is perhaps unusual is how warmly the club praised the manager in its statement about his departure. There can't be many times a manager leaving a club after six successive defeats has had such a glowing report from.the chairman. https://www.borehamwoodfootballclub.co.uk/uncategorized/club-statement-luke-garrard/?

Prior to DAFC' admin problems we were among the best in Scotland (admittedly that was a low bar to beat) but since then several clubs, not just in the Premiership, have significantly improved their facilities so I don't think we hold that position now - still better than many, though, especially outwith the Premiership. I couldn't now say where we are in the "league table", every club has its own set of circumstances and requirements. As long as we all keep trying to improve facilities for ALL fans I'm reasonably happy - still a long way to go, though.

This is an excellent BBC article about progress (or lack of it) in improving access to football at Scotland's Premiership grounds for people with a disability. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68610204?fbclid=IwAR1U-Hssed5a9jm5OxzXSUSGX1pmbonM_x96GvkqDaLsgDW9DNHpd8w2Gpc I particularly liked the comment from St Johnstone's Bev Mayer: "If somebody brings something to our attention, then we ask 'how can we achieve this?'," she says. "You learn from your supporters, the biggest educators we've got are the service users."

Delighted to report that we raised £224 on the day (including payments by card and online). Many thanks to the collecting team of Josephine Chesby, John Simpson and David Henderson, and of course to all the generous folk who contributed.

Thanks, Piracy - much appreciated. Here's a direct link if anyone else wants to pay by card. https://fifepay.co.uk/checkout/dadsc-card-payment

DADSC will be holding a bucket collection today (Sunday) from 10.30 - 3.30 at Asda Halbeath - if you're shopping, say hello and please bring some cash for the buckets! (But even if you don't have cash we have a card reader!) All money will go to the First Floor Access Fund.

Every little helps. You can save up some cash and bring it to Asda Halbeath this Sunday (17th). And we have a card reader for people who don't carry cash, so that makes a difference. Footfall in the store was very low after midday due to Mother's Day lunches and live sports on TV, but we collected £143, which was fine. Some pics here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/PvEKsbuottEykex1/

Bump

DADSC will be holding a bucket collection on Sunday 10 March (10.30-3.30) at the front door of Asda St Leonards. If you would like to help for part of that time, even just half-an-hour or so, it would be much appreciated - please get in touch with me or come along on the day. And if you are shopping at Asda St Leonards in those times, please bring some spare cash with you (but we`ll also have a card reader so there really is no escape!) All money raised will go into the DADSC First Floor Access Fund. [i][/i]

We're really glad the event went so well and was appreciated by fans of both clubs. Those who took part were (as Digs said) absolutely buzzing about the whole experience, and they got to keep their shirts as mementos of the occasion. There's now an article and some of Craig Brown's pics on the DAFC official website: https://dafc.co.uk/cafe-week-of-action-2024/

Huge thanks tonight to the Pars supporters for the magnificent applause and encouragement they gave to those taking part in the half-time exhibition match. The players and their families were buzzing afterwards about the whole experience. For those who missed the tannoy announcement, the teams were from The Pars Foundation and Fairway Fife, a local charity which helps those living with learning disabilities or autism to live independent lives. The Pars Foundation works with Fairway Fife to deliver a weekly two-hour coaching session aimed at helping participants develop relationships with others and increase their confidence. This evening's event was co-ordinated by Graham Ross, DAFC's Disability Access Officer, as part of the 2024 Week of Action arranged by football clubs all over Europe by CAFE (Centre for Access to Football in Europe), whose aim is to maximise access to football for those living with a physical or mental disability. DAFC and DADSC have an excellent relationship with CAFE, and we have fully supported the initiative for several years - punching well above our weight if truth be told! #TotalAccess A couple of quick pics from tonight are shown below:

Looks like the Bonus Ball for tonight was 42, so the person who had that number will be the winner of the shirt etc. We'll send the winner an email to confirm this and to arrange collection/delivery. Many, many thanks to everyone who took part - sorry to those who weren't quick enough off the mark to get a number. All the money raised will go to the DADSC First Floor Access Fund.

After you've won it ...

With hindsight, I should probably have stuck with my original plan to price the tickets at £10 each - double the money for DADSC and probably more fans getting the opportunity to buy tickets. I just thought that with the current squeeze on people's personal finances, and the current negative vibes around DAFC, there might have been a reluctance to pay as much - I should have known better, as anyone who was at Hampden in 2004 will know how they felt at half-time and would want to re-live that feeling.

In case anyone who has been allocated a number is worried there might be a glitch in the system, there isn't - Raymie was kidding ...

Well, you won't win with that number!!!! I'll get the IT Crowd to look into it, I think you should have got 35. (I hope the whole system hasn't gone wrong!!!!)

That`s all 59 tickets sold, thank you for an amazing response. You should already have received an acknowledgment of your order, and very soon you`ll be sent a randomly allocated number in the range 1-59. This will be checked against the Bonus Ball in the National Lottery draw this Wednesday (7 February) and after that I`ll be in touch with the winner to arrange delivery/collection of the framed shirt and photo. At a time when things are a bit tough for DAFC it`s great to look back on that wonderful day at Hampden in 2004. Perhaps one day we`ll do it again! The draw has delivered £295 (less a little in Stripe fees) to DADSC, which will take our funds to around £73k. That`s just a little short of our increased target of £75k, which should be reached in the next few months. This is a tremendous achievement and results from the generosity of Pars fans and many others with no connection to DAFC. Thank you.

EDITED - ALL TICKETS NOW SOLD, THANK YOU. TICKETS ONLY £5 EACH! Dunfermline Athletic Disabled Supporters’ Club (DADSC) has received this magnificent framed DAFC 2004 Cup Final shirt* with a photo of the Pars goal celebration, both signed personally by ANDRIUS SKERLA. You could become the owner yourself (or use it as a Valentine’s Day gift for the Pars fan in your life), by entering a draw based on the National Lottery Lotto Bonus Ball. Each entry is £5, and when all 59 slots are taken it will be announced on this thread and each purchaser will be allocated a random number between 1 and 59. On the subsequent National Lottery Lotto draw date the winner will be the person whose allocated number matches the Bonus Ball number. We expect demand for tickets to be high, so don’t delay. All proceeds will go to the DADSC First Floor Access Fund. To take part in the draw just follow the card payment link below to pay £5 per ticket (buy as many as you want!) and have a chance of winning this framed shirt and photo – a memento of one of the best moments in recent Pars history. https://fifepay.co.uk/checkout/dadsc-bonusball-2004framedshirt * DADSC cannot guarantee that this is the actual shirt worn by Andrius Skerla in the 2004 final, although it is quite possible. It was very generously donated to DADSC by Pars fan Matthew Lafferty, who won it several years ago in a lottery run by the Elizabethan Supporters’ Club. [i][/i]