Budding football managers will have the chance to put the Saints through their paces as a host of coveted auction lots are revealed in the renowned 12 Days of Christmas Auction.
The annual event, organised by the club‘s charitable foundation, offers people the chance to bid for a new auction lot every day between December 1 and 12 as the organisation raises funds for those less fortunate this Christmas.
And top of the bill for the 2024 auction is the chance to spend the day shadowing the Buddies boss Stephen Robinson.
The person with the winning bid will win an all access pass for a family four to spend the day with Robbo. They will have breakfast or lunch with Stephen, experience the academy and watch the players train before meeting the team and picture opportunities, with some signed gifts from the squad also included.
The perfect prize for Saints fans, the experience is one of a host of days out, football memorabilia, gigs and pamper packages which people can secure at auction in the coming days.
Amongst the most coveted lots are signed merchandise from recent Paisley tourist Christiano Ronaldo and former Buddies manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
For those who are more into the extraterrestrial, there will be a host of Star Wars collectables.
Buddies thinking about Christmas presents for the kids will also have the chance to bid on the Family Christmas Cracker which includes a £500 Smyths voucher, SweetPunkz sweets and a Pandamonium soft play voucher, a packed food bundle to eat in places such as Elderslie Coffee Shop, Mill & Brae and to enjoy pizza and darts from Flight Club Glasgow, Festive Spirit, and a SMiSA Secret Santa.
The auction officially launches on Sunday with the ‘Saints Serenade’ lot. Kindly donated by Gleddoch Golf and Spa Resort and the SEC, the lot includes bed and breakfast in a plush four-poster room and spa treatments for two, as well as two tickets to the sold-out Gracie Abrams gig in Glasgow.
The auction lot, worth an incredible £650, will go live on the St Mirren FC Charitable Foundation Facebook and dedicated Festive Friends webpage at 8am and will close 12 hours later.
All funds raised from the 12 Days of Christmas auctions will fund the foundation’s Festive Friends initiative.
Aimed at vulnerable people in the community, Festive Friends sees hampers of festive treats, age-specific gifts and Christmas dinner delivered to older people and struggling families on Christmas day.
It is only made possibly with the support of an army of volunteers who cook meals, pack gifts and hampers and deliver it all to hundreds of Renfrewshire homes – and crucially, those who support the 12 Days of Christmas auction.
Gayle Brannigan, chief executive of the foundation, said: “The success of the auction and proceeds raised go towards three of our most loved Festive Initiatives, our Football Memories Christmas Party to support those with Dementia & Alzheimer’s, our Festive Buddies Tea Party bringing people together who may be socially isolated and facing food poverty, and last but not least, Festive Friends.
“These initiatives help us take away some of the stress from Christmas, and let’s folk know that they matter and are loved, that’s what Christmas is all about after all, being kind.”
The success of the auction is also hugely reliant of the generosity of local people, organisations and businesses such as Tony Fitzpatrick and Legacy Comps who donated the £500 Smyths voucher, davybubbles.com which donated the Star Wars merchandise, Sir Alex Ferguson who sent signed collectables and Stephen Robinson who will kindly welcome “an assistant coach” to his team for the day.
People who want to bid on a lot, or simply donate to the Festive Friends initiative can do so by clicking here where volunteers who want to help out on Christmas Day will also find registration forms.
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