SUNDERLAND fans eagerly awaiting their team’s Wembley cup final can look the part on the big day – and help support a charity at the same time.
The Black Cats will take on Manchester City in the Capital One Cup final, on Sunday, March 2.
Graphic artist Dave Wright has designed a commemorative T-shirt he hopes will prove popular among supporters preparing to make the trip to Wembley.
Mr Wright, a Sunderland season ticket holder for more than 20 years, is donating all profits from the sales of the T-shirts to 4Louis, a Wearside-based charity that supports bereaved parents.
He decided to raise funds for the charity after hearing how it supported a friend who has twice suffered the agony of losing a baby.
The T-shirts – priced £16, including delivery - feature a caricature of Sunderland boss Gus Poyet driving a coach-load of supporters to Wembley.
It also carries the slogan ‘We’re on the bus with Gus’ – an expression latched onto by Black Cats fans, with reference to the chorus of Paul Simon’s 1975 song, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.
Mr Wright, 33, of Hurworth, near Darlington, said: “I’ve fancied releasing a T-shirt for a while, but I was not comfortable with selling them for my own gain.
“4Louis really helped my mate and his wife when they were at rock-bottom, so much so that they are now doing a bit of work for the charity.
“I have already taken a few orders from people, just through Facebook, and hopefully the orders will keep coming in as the days tick down to the final.
“All the money is going to the charity, I am not making a penny, and there have been no set-up costs.”
The T-shirts are being sold online, visit thegusbus.co.uk
4Louis was set up by Kirsty McGurrell, in 2009, after her son Louis was stillborn.
She created the charity, which provides memory boxes for the bereaved, as an outlet for her grief.
Middlesbrough footballer Stuart Parnaby and his wife have raised more than £2,000 for the charity after losing their daughter, Poppy.
Trustee Bob McGurrell – Louis’s grandfather – said all fundraising is gratefully received.
For more information about the charity, visit 4louis.co.uk
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