Steve Prescott’s legacy lives on with £43,000 donation

Steve Prescott’s legacy lives on with £43,000 donation

The Rugby League Benevolent Fund has received a fantastic donation of £43,000 from the proceeds of fundraising activities held by the Steve Prescott Foundation.

The donation continues the wonderful support for the Benevolent Fund in memory of the former St Helens, Hull, England and Ireland full-back who died 10 years ago.

The donation was presented to RL Benevolent Fund General Manager Steve Ball and Rugby League Cares Wellbeing Programme Manager Gareth Ellis by Steve’s wife, Linzi, and Steve Prescott Foundation General Manager Martin Blondel.

Steve Ball said: “The Steve Prescott Foundation has continued to be our main contributor for the past 16 years: during this time our beneficiaries have had the benefit of the monetary support and established a close bond with the Foundation following on from Steve Prescott’s wishes.

“We are excited about the future that lies ahead, especially enlisting Gareth’s support.

I am sure that the Prescott family and their amazing supporters will, once again in 2024, amaze us all with their bravery, courage and determination to help those less fortunate than ourselves.”

Gareth Ellis said: “When I first started out on my rugby league career at Wakefield, Steve Prescott was one of the first senior players to set me out on the right path and always provided me with great advice and assistance.

“I was fortunate enough to take part in the epic Race Across Europe 3000 mile cycle ride with the SPF in 2018 and played in a few testimonial legends games. I am truly honoured to be in a position to support the SPF through my role with RL Cares.

“I look forward to hearing about the crazy challenges the SPF have lined up, especially with Taylor and Koby Prescott filling their dad’s incredible shoes!”

Linzi Prescott said: “It’s 10 years since Stephen passed and he would be incredibly proud of the donations the SPF have made since 2013. He would be also incredibly proud of the way Taylor and Koby have took on the challenges and the way the public have continued to support the SPF.

“With Gareth’s assistance, we are determined to make 2024 one of the best yet and will be announcing our events and a new way forward for the SPF committee. We also look forward to re-engaging with our ambassadors and making our events more inclusive and as ever, putting the FUN in FUNdraising and keeping Stephen’s astonishing legacy alive.

Without your support we could not achieve this.”

Taylor Prescott has already announced his participation in the Cleanhire TCS London Marathon and Koby Prescott will be announcing his main challenge for 2024 next week.

There will be also a few familiar events and one or two new ones for people to tackle.

The Steve Prescott Foundation will also be making a further donation to The Christie Hospital Manchester before the end of the year.