Dunns gives young artists the chance to design football shirt

Chris Glancey, (right), founder of Aware Scotland, with members of the Queen’s Park FC squad and young people involved with the charity.

Dunns Food and Drinks, official hospitality partner of Queen’s Park FC, is giving young artists the chance to design a new training top for the football club.

The wholesaler has invited young people from Aware Scotland – a Scottish charity that provides life-changing experiences to help young people reach their full potential – to  submit concepts or drawings, from which one design will be selected to feature on the front of the players’ pre-match warm-up shirts.

The new warm-up jerseys will be worn ahead of the Queen’s Park FC’s Aware Awareness Day, which will take place during its Championship fixture against Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC on 9 December at Hampden.

As part of the partnership, Scotland’s oldest football club will provide more than 50 free tickets to the charity, and one young person supported by the charity will be named as mascot and featured in the matchday programme.

This is just one of a number of initiatives to be rolled out over the course of the coming year as part of the partnership. Currently, Eva Rooney, who has been supported by Aware Scotland since January 2022 and is studying Higher photography, has been shadowing Queen’s Park FC’s official club photographer Ian Cairns to learn the tricks of the trade.

Chris Glancey, Aware Scotland founder, said: “Through their support of our work, Queen’s Park and Dunns Food and Drinks are helping those most in need achieve their full potential as valued members of the community.

“We believe all young people, no matter their life experience or background, have a right to happiness and opportunities for self development.

“With such a long and rich history to draw upon at Queen’s Park, this is an incredible opportunity for a talented young artist to create something that will enjoy prominence and profile and create a platform from which to launch the next stage of their career. That’s what we’re all about.”

Furthermore, at Queen’s Park home games, there will be bucket collections that will go towards Aware Scotland’s initiatives to provide respite breaks and unique experiences focused on physical activity, mental wellbeing, and fun.

Dunns is also supplying goodie bags and offering Aware Scotland’s young people the chance to attend training sessions, games and press conferences.

Julie Dunn, operations director at Dunns Food and Drinks, said: “For almost 150 years, we’ve been focused on making a positive impact by supporting communities and charities. Queen’s Park has been doing that for even longer.

“Together, we are going to create a lot of good and this is just one example. Sometimes, all people need is a chance. We look forward to seeing what the young people create when given the opportunity.”