The campaign that saw English football’s fifth tier temporarily rebranded from the Vanarama to the MANarama National League raised £150,000 for Prostate Cancer UK.
The rebranding to help increase awareness about the disease – which also applied to the sixth-tier National League North and National League South – was announced last month after Prostate Cancer UK became the National League’s first ever official charity partner.
Funds were raised via Vanarama’s vehicle-leasing incentive ‘lease a van, save a man’, in which it donated £50 for every vehicle leased from the start of September until Saturday, when the rebrand came to an end.
A cheque for £150,000 was presented on Saturday – Non-League Day – at Halifax’s stadium The Shay ahead of their match against Chesterfield. The presentation involved Kevin Webber, who in 2014 was diagnosed with prostate cancer and told he could have as little as two years left to live, and has raised thousands for the charity.
In the build-up Webber had completed seven walking marathons in seven day as he visited 10 National League clubs, delivering captain’s armbands featuring the charity’s logo that were worn on the day.
National League chief executive Michael Tattersall, who walked alongside Webber on the final day of his challenge, said: “We’re delighted at the response of our temporary – and historic – rebranding to the MANarama National League over the past six weeks and it’s wonderful to see so much money and awareness raised to aid the fight against prostate cancer.
“We are proud to have Prostate Cancer UK as our first ever charity partner and look forward to working with them more going forward.”
More than 11,000 men die from prostate cancer in the UK each year.
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