TOWN owner Dean Hoyle has dipped into his pocket to help hundreds of youngsters realise a dream.
He came up with an idea to fund tickets and travel for children from under-privileged backgrounds for Sunday’s massive play-off final against Peterborough.
And his generosity, along with that of friends and other fans, means up to 800 kids could be at the Theatre of Dreams.
Hoyle offered £3,000 to pay for tickets and coach travel to the big game and was overwhelmed by the generosity of others when they heard about his idea.
Within hours, another £22,000 had been pledged – leaving Town staff racing around Huddersfield schools to find children keen to go.
Now the club hope they can get the 800 youngsters aged between 8 and 11 into the massive crowd for the big game at Manchester United’s Old Trafford venue.
Many of them are expected to come from poorer areas of the town, who would otherwise not have a chance of getting to the game.
Hoyle said: “I don’t usually ask for financial contributions but I feel we can make a big difference to little lives and put smiles on faces.
“It was just an idea that came to me about 3pm on Monday afternoon. I was talking to Nigel Clibbens, the club’s chief executive, and said I wanted to give something back to the community.
“I said I would give £3,000 to try to get 200 kids to the game, and that the club would arrange coach travel.
“I texted some of my contacts and was amazed by the response. Within an hour, we already had another £6,000 pledged and when we went public with it, the response was stunning.
“By mid afternoon yesterday we had a total of £25,000 promised.
“One individual I know pledged £3,000 and we got many more offers, including a Town fan who said he’d give £15 to buy a ticket for a youngster.
“These are tough times for many people and there are a lot of people who would not otherwise have the opportunity to go to the game.
“There are many children in Huddersfield who don’t get the chance to go to a game at the Galpharm Stadium, never mind such a big match at the Theatre of Dreams.
“This is community spirit at its finest and it now means that we can hopefully get 800 children to this game.”
The club has a big project involving Huddersfield schools and staff were busy last night contacting them to get names for the Old Trafford trip.
“It will, hopefully, be a day out they will remember for the rest of their lives” said Mr Hoyle.
Last night Town had sold close to 30,000 tickets for Sunday’s game.
From noon today, remaining tickets were going on sale from the ticket office at the Galpharm Stadium.
