Friends and family of a beloved young man who lost his life to suicide last year have remembered him with a fundraising football match.
The game was a fitting tribute to Jamie Aitchison, known as Jambo, a diehard football fan whose death has left a gaping hole in the lives of his loved ones.
To pay tribute to him and help others who are struggling with mental health issues, his mum Debbieanne Marriot and best friend Cammy Moore set up the Jamie’s Sanctuary charity.
The fundraising football game was organised by Jamie’s pals Lee McNeil and Gary Short last weekend and raised an amazing £3,480 for the Neil’s Hugs Foundation.
Debbieanne was delighted that there had been a great turnout on the day and thanked everyone who was involved in organising the event and who had donated, saying that she was “totally overwhelmed”.
She said: “Jamie’s stepdad wore a Celtic t-shirt. He’s the most bitter Rangers fan you could meet and he came on the pitch and played for Celtic. His pal is a Celtic supporter and he played for Rangers – these are the kind of things that people are doing for Jamie.”
Donna Paterson-Harvie founder of the Neil’s Hugs Foundation, was delighted with the donation.
She said: “Neil’s Hugs Foundation would like to thank everyone involved in supporting Jamie’s family to raise awareness around mental ill health and suicide.
“This event was held in Jamie’s memory and events like this help to get people talking. It helps to reduce stigma and hopefully this will encourage people to reach out and talk before they think that suicide is their only option.
“We are grateful that Jamie’s family and friends have chosen our charity to raise awareness and funds for.
“This will help us to continue helping people in our community.”
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