Hard to believe it has been 20 years since Alan Shearer retired, with his testimonial vs Celtic raising over £1.6 million for good causes on Tyneside and beyond.
Part of these funds went towards the completion of the Alan Shearer Centre, a unique and inclusive range of services dedicated to supporting children and adults with disabilities, based in Lemington in the west of Newcastle.
On Thursday night Alan appeared at the “Podcast All-stars” fundraising event in Gosforth, with all proceeds going to the Alan Shearer Foundation.
This was effectively the launch of Alan’s Million Pound Mission, a drive to raise the funds to build a second hydrotherapy pool at the Centre.
The mission consists of a Move a Mile challenge, where all you have to do is complete a mile in a way you feel most comfortable – walk, run, cycle, cartwheel, do it on a space hopper if you want. As long as you then donate to the Alan Shearer foundation and subsequently nominate three people to pass the challenge on to.
Thursday night was indeed a landmark event for Newcastle’s all time leading scorer, as he also got the chance to meet me.
Photo by Jamie Smith via The Mag
I was there in my usual capacity as a top independent NUFC journalist/rentagob/hanger-on, but also as a beneficiary. My youngest son Freddie is autistic and the Alan Shearer Centre is a magnificent happy place for him. He loves the sensory rooms and it’s one of the few places he feels really comfortable, so as a parent I am extremely grateful to have this facility so close to home.
I remember when I first took Freddie to the centre and we got the tour. The lady who shows me the booking process advised that the hydrotherapy pool booked out rapidly, to the extent that people would wait to pounce at midnight once the two week advance booking window opened. If you got on at two minutes past twelve, the day would likely be booked out in full, so this second pool will be a fine and very much in-demand addition.
So, twenty years on and Alan Shearer is still a hero. If you can, please support his efforts by getting involved and/or donating to the Alan Shearer Centre fundraising.