BUSINESSES are being called on to help in a student project that could raise cash for charity.
Paul Parsons, lecturer at South Downs College at Crokkhorn has asked his graphic design students to come up with a set of playing cards, which will be sold next May to coincide with the annual Blue Day fundraiser.
The event, held the day before Pompey’s last home game of the season, sees schools, businesses and other organisations turn themselves blue to raise money for the Tom Prince Cancer Trust.
Tom Prince died on the evening before his 16th birthday from the bone cancer osteosarcoma. Now the students want to help raise money to fund research into the disease, and need help from the business world.
Paul said: ‘We need at least £700 to pay for them to be printed, and of course the more money we get the more we can print and the more we can sell to raise money for the charity.
‘But £700 is what we need to be able to give 100 per cent of the sales to the Tom Prince Cancer Trust.’
Paul is a Pompey fan, and became aware of the charity because he sits next to Tom’s parents, Adele and Clinton Prince, at Fratton Park.
Now he’s hoping to continue the Pompey theme for the playing cards by asking former club players Linvoy Primus and David James to come up with some illustrations.
Each of the designs on the 52 cards will have a heroes theme, in honour of Tom himself.
Paul said: ‘From spending time with Tom’s family my first though was just how brave and heroic this young man was.
‘So with the theme of heroes, the students, aged between 16 and 17 years old, will be designing artwork which will be placed on playing cards, as Tom enjoyed games.’
Any firm which wishes to get involved with the project will have its logo incorporated into the playing cards, and will also feature in the college’s end of term graphics show.
The project is being supported by the Pompey Sports and Education Foundation.
To find out how to get involved, email pparsons@southdowns.co.uk.
To find out more about the Tom Prince Cancer Trust, click here to visit the charity’s website.
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