Steps for StephenSeptember 27-29, 2019

Fundraising in support of the Darby Rimmer

MND Foundation

Steps for Stephen

Supporting the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation

The Motivation

To Goodison Park

To the University of Bolton Stadium

To Boundary Park

To Turf Moor

To Elland Road

Introduction 3

Mike Wilson

Redwood Events

Steps for Stephen

“Steps 4 Stephen” is a two day fundraising walk for the Stephen Darby Foundation.

Stephen, a professional footballer who played for Liverpool, Bradford City and Bolton

Wanderers, was recently diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. Stephen’s

reaction to this was to set up his own foundation to help others to live with and fight

this dreadful disease.

Recently we had a call from Tony Kelly, Bolton Wanderers legend and friend of

Stephen, and a subsequent call from Stephen himself. It’s our honour to be asked to

help arrange an event to support the foundation and this is how “Steps 4 Stephen”

was created. Essentially it is a continuous team walk over two days covering 167

miles. It starts at Bradford City, has a midpoint at Bolton Wanderers and finishes at

Anfield calling at 15 other grounds along the way. One of these is Rochdale where

Stephen was on loan.

Our aim is to raise in excess of £20,000 for the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation and

help him and we will be inviting many football fans to join us along the way. The

event is scheduled for Friday September 27 to Sunday September 29.

Zico’s Challenge 4

Steps for Stephen

Tony ‘Zico’ Kelly is part of the organising team for this event and it was his original

idea to put this walk together to support Stephen, someone he has the highest

respect for.

I’ve come to know Stephen well since his arrival at Bolton Wanderers. As a player

and as a man, he has been top class. He has been an amazing influence on the

younger players at the club and has helped them develop. He’s a fantastic

professional and above all, he’s one of the nicest, most down to earth, guys in

football. His diagnosis with MND was a shock to everyone but his reaction to this

has been truly inspiring. His first response was to see how he can support others

with a similar condition. A more selfless act I cannot imagine. I am so pleased to

be part of the team staging ‘Steps 4 Stephen’ and we hope we can show

Stephen, personally, how many people are ready to show their support for him. If

we can raise a substantial amount of cash for the Darby Rimmer MND

Foundation, that will be a real result.

Tony Kelly

Bolton Wanderers Football Club

Steps for Stephen

Fighting Motor Neurone Disease

The Event

To the DW Stadium

To Turf Moor

To Elland Road

To Old Trafford

To Ewood Park

Plan of the Event 6

Steps for Stephen

How the Event Works 7

Steps for Stephen

The Event

This event will be a continuous 168 mile team walk starting at Bradford on Friday

September 28 finishing a little over 2 days later at Anfield. The journey visits 18 grounds in

total. The route is split into two halves with Bolton Wanderers at the mid point

The Teams

Two teams of 12 supporters will be recruited.

• Team 1 will walk from Bradford to Bolton

• Team 2 will walk from Bolton to Liverpool

Each team will cover their 80 mile route is stages of three to four miles with a rotating team

of three walkers allocated to each stage

In addition there will be an additional team (Team 3) of twelve of Stephen’s friends and

colleagues from Bolton Wanderers and within the football industry

Additional walkers will be able to join at any stage of the event as ‘Open Walkers’.

Zico’s Challenge

Stephen’s Bolton Wanderers colleague and friend, Tony ‘Zico’ Kelly will be undertaking his

own personal challenge. Tony will be with the event throughout its duration and will walk

the first mile of each stage, This will mean he will complete 45 miles in total within 48

hours with minimal sleep - a significant challenge indeed.

Tony has roped in his pal and Bolton Wanderers legend John McGinlay to join him in this

challenge.

Fundraising for the Stephen Darby Foundation

Money will be raised in a number of ways

• Stage sponsors will be recruited for each of the 45 stages raising a minimum of £100

per stage

• As well as a company sponsoring each stage, the organisers are looking to recruit

Stephen’s fellow professionals to make a donation to sponsor each stage.

• All core team members will be asked to try to raise £250 each in personal sponsorship

• Signed memorabilia will be collected from the clubs we visit which will be auctioned

after the event

• Event hoodies will be available at £17 with £5 for each sale going to the charity.

What We Will Need 8

Steps for Stephen

Main Sponsors

We need to find some main sponsors. These backers will essentially allow us to

stage this event. We are looking for four main sponsors to back each of the four

teams with a sum of £250 (or more). This money allows us to cover t-shirt costs for

the core walkers, cover the cost of minibus, insurance and fuel. It also pays for the

event banners and magnetic signs that adorn the support vehicles. In return, the

sponsors logo will be on the t-shirts of the team they sponsor, their logo will be

prominent on the banners and magnetic signs and we will give them continuous

shout outs through our website and on social media.

T-shirts and Hoodies

These will be designed and manufactured by White Lodge Group. The plan is

• Core team 1 have t-shirts in navy Bolton Wanderers colours

• Core team 2 have t-shirts in red Liverpool colours

• Core team 3 have t-shirts in white Bolton Wanderers colours

• Additional walkers who join throughout will wear t-shirts in burgundy Bradford

City colours.

Hoodies will be available to buy in Liverpool, Bradford City and Bolton Wanderers

colours

Minibus Hire

We have an arrangement with Arrow Self Drive who provide a minibus for the first

two core teams. A second minibus will support the third core team and any other

walkers who need support

Health And Safety

Redwood Events will provide a full Risk Assessment for review and approval by all

involved.

Social Media / Internet

We will publicise the event using numerous sources

• Twitter – Under hashtag #Steps4Stephen

• Facebook Group – Steps 4 Stephen

• Internet via www.redwoodevents,co.uk

T-shirts and Hoodies 9

Steps for Stephen

T-shirts for the event has been designed by White Lodge Group, regular suppliers

to Redwood Events. Hoodies will also be designed for the event and these will be

especially useful for those walking through the night.

The first core team will wear t-shirts in Bolton Wanderers Colours (navy, red and

white). The second core team will wear t-shirts in Liverpool colours (Red, white and

yellow). The ex-Pros team will wear t-shirts in Bolton Wanderers home colours

(white, navy and red). Additional walkers joining the event will get a t-shirt in

Bradford City colours (maroon, white and amber).

In addition, because we walk through the night on two nights, we will have Hoodies

designed for the event. Each will cost £15 which includes a donation to the

Stephen Darby Foundation. The hoodies will be available in maroon, navy or red.

Steps for Stephen

Supporting Stephen Darby

The Route

To Edgeley Park

To Valley Parade

To Gigg Lane

To Anfield

To the Etihad Stadium

Day 1 – Bradford City to

Bolton Wanderers11

Steps for Stephen

Day 2 – Bolton Wanderers to

Liverpool12

Steps for Stephen