Giving back to fans of Notts County

Each season I try to give back to the community. Obviously, last season proved difficult, but as I was prepared to sort through all the prints I have made since 2018 - which proved to be a terrible season to start, I thought that there might be fans out there who might appreciate being given one.

Whilst some fans collect programmes, I have accumulated various player prints from past seasons, and as a whole I have learned about not overstocking them.

Heading into the 2021/22 season, my wife joked about where I planned to put the new stock once I had finished them. I mean, 8 new variants, and others - it does start to consume space.

That is where a mass giving of these mostly redundant prints is formulated. However, I wanted fans to be involved.

I thought that fans could name a worthy cause, and therefore it would be focused on the gesture of that fan - rather than me simply wanting to get rid of them.

I don't personally agree with just throwing things out, as I know full well - that players can make a significant impact on your thoughts even if others don't rate them, or see how kind they can be. I know Matt Tootle is one of these types, that would do anything and everything to help fans.

Plus there's the fact that many are actually signed by the players personally, so there's a keep sake element to it.

Whilst the majority of prints I am giving away have simply expired in terms of interest from supporters, I have added quite a lot of ones which do have demand. These have fallen into giveaways, plus backing ARLukomski who is on the road to 2k subscribers on his YouTube channel.

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My mission on Saturday is to find the majority, if not all of these worthy nominations, and to just try to make a difference.

I firmly believe that small acts of kindness can make a positive impression, so I will do my best to ensure this goes ahead. I am planning on giving some away as prizes, others to random fans I notice.

Such as a young supporter in the Kop, who has been waving a Belgium flag at every home game, and has tried to call Elisha Sam over to sign his programme.

I have an A4 print of Elisha Sam just for this young fan, so I am hoping to call Sam over myself - get it signed, and then to signal the fan, so Elisha can hand the print over himself. If this can't be done, handing over the print will have a similar effect I imagine, however, if I can encourage Sam to do it - I think that would be a nice interaction for both him and his fan.

I aim to follow this up by writing about tomorrow's match, and the reactions.

Whilst this might not be the most interesting subject, I think it shows a different side, and one that's not all focused on something often seen. Behind the scenes, I do a lot of good, and I have for over 13 years now - 11 of which is via the Pride of Nottingham.