Waterlooville man will take part in charity football tournament to support Friends Fighting Cancer

John Wake, 29, will be competing the annual Friends Fighting Cancer charity football tournament on April 9 in honour of his nan, Olive Rush.

He is a lead air hygiene engineer at air filter manufacturing and services company, Jasun Envirocare, and his company has offered to sponsor his team throughout the tournament.

Team Olive Rush will be playing its next game on Sunday at West Leigh Park at 12pm, followed by its final game of the tournament on April 30 at AFC Portchester.

John said: ‘When my nan was diagnosed with cancer, she received some fantastic help from Friends Fighting Cancer, who enabled her to commute to appointments and treatments, which would otherwise have put great financial strain on her and the rest of the family.

‘My cousin Alex and I have decided to raise money for FFC in our nan’s name, which seems a fitting tribute as Olive dedicated more than 50 years of her life to charitable work. We’re very grateful that Jasun has agreed to sponsor our team and offered their support throughout.’

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Olive was a loved member of the community and she spent decades of her lifetime working alongside the Royal British Legion.

She took over organising in Havant and Emsworth in 1979 and continued her charity fundraising throughout the years.

Friends Fighting Cancer is a non-profit organisation that hosts fundraising activities to benefit families and it forges communities of people who want to take part in activities to raise awareness.

Since 2008, the charity has organised a range of fundraising activities including football matches, raffles, bucket collections, walking events, skydives and darts tournaments.

All of the money goes towards supporting people and families who have been impacted by a cancer diagnosis and the charity offers grants to those who need some financial help whilst unwell.

John is also going to be hosting a fundraising day in memory of his nan on July 1 at the Centurion pub, Crookhorn from 12noon. The event will have a variety of activities from a bouncy castle, face painting, a raffle, carnival games and an ice-cream van followed by a live band in the evening.