LUCAS Akins has matched the charitable donation of a group of Burton Albion supporters - and will be donating the proceeds to two charities close to his heart.
After a banner in Akins’ honour was created by The Harpers supporters group, £153 was left over from contributions for Lucas to give to his preferred charity.
And Lucas has matched that, meaning the total of £306 will now be split between the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice in Lucas’s hometown of Huddersfield, as well as The Alzheimer’s Society.
The Alzheimer’s Society are the UK’s leading dementia research and support charity who look to support anyone affected by any form of dementia, while Forget Me Not help serve families across West Yorkshire and East Lancashire.
“Alzheimer’s is a disease that we don’t yet have a cure for,” said Akins. “It’s quite debilitating. My fiancee’s grandma is suffering with it now and we’ve seen first-hand what it can do.
“When it has affected you directly, you become a little more aware as to what a sad disease it is. That’s one close to my heart and one I’d love to help with.
"Sometimes in football we get caught up with physical injuries - but it's extremely difficult when you have a disease that you cannot easily see.
“The other charity is the Forget Me Not Childrens’ Hospice in Huddersfield. It’s quite local to my junior school - St Patrick’s - again that’s for kids who are quite poorly and have been for quite a long time.
“All-year-round kids are suffering but it’s a charity that is important to me and has stuck in my mind for a while, so I wanted to do something.
“I think it’s a fantastic gesture from the group that have made me this banner. I’m delighted to match what they’ve made and it’s good that they’ve got the ball rolling, because they could have shared it out among themselves.
“But to put it towards good causes and to give me the choice to do that, I’m extremely humbled by that and thankful for it.”