Scrum on down and help First Days - The Pink Bin is back this Saturday

The First Days' Pink Bin will once again be outside the Madejski Stadium Megastore tomorrow as London Irish face London Scottish in the Battle of the Exiles (kick-off 3pm).

The bin will be on-site from 1pm until kick-off.

First Days is a Berkshire based children’s charity that provides practical support to local families living in need. They collect and redistribute clothing, equipment, furniture and toys. 

In autumn 2016, they became London Irish’s chosen charity for the season to help provide items urgently needed by local families.

Kathryn Tibble-Taylor, Operations Director of First Days said: “We are delighted to have been chosen as a charity partner for London Irish. It’s great to receive such fantastic support from the staff and the team.

“As a family friendly club, we feel that London Irish understand what we are trying to achieve by supporting families living in poverty in the local Reading area. We are looking forward to continuing to work closely with the team to raise awareness of child poverty.”

The First Days pink bin has been a resident at the club for over five months and in that time, the charity has received three bin loads of donations from the London Irish fans. From warm coats and wellies to nappies and wipes, they have been able to use them all.

In fact, the donations from the London Irish pink bins helped a young family just before Christmas with warm coats and clothing to get through the winter.

London Irish has also helped the charity to raise over £500 from a signed London Irish shirt.

Andy Keast, Head of Community at London Irish, said: “We have a reputation as a family-friendly club which is why it made sense to support a family charity such as First Days.

“I came along to see what the charity does and was blown away by how many referrals they receive weekly.”

First Days help over 220 children every month.  The most commonly requested items are nappies, wipes and baby toiletries. So, if London Irish supporters can bring something along to pop into the First Days bin outside the shop at the MadStad on Saturday, they will be very gratefully received.

Volunteers from the charity will also be collecting from 1pm until kick-off, you will see them with pink buckets around the stadium. Saturday’s collection will be helping to buy new mattresses for every child that needs one. They’re a friendly bunch and will be happy to answer your questions about the charity. If you are interested in volunteering for First Days or making a donation, please get in touch through [email protected] or chat to one of the volunteers on Saturday.

Tickets are available for the Exiles’ next home game against London Scottish this Saturday by calling 0118 968 1016 or click here to purchase online.