In the recent past we have made brief mention of Smile Tickets and members will know that on the back page of our most recent TUST magazine, we carried the teaser about Smile Tickets. So what exactly are Smile Tickets all about?
Well, first and foremost this new initiative is a partnership between the club and the trust to donate Smile Tickets to worthy recipients, with costs to fund the scheme being shared. Clearly we are delighted to have been able to establish such a worthy partnership that we hope will in time benefit many local, deserving and worthy people.
The Smile Ticket ethos is to enhance the trust's and club’s links within the community by inviting nominated individuals or groups for a unique football treat. Typical nominations - but by no means exclusive - can identify a person's hard work, selfless acts or devotion to the community at large.
The scheme will allow TUST to acknowledge ‘deserving people’ in the local community by presenting them with Smile Tickets which will allow them free admission to a football match at Plainmoor.
This provides the recipients an opportunity to enjoy the experience of a live professional game that they perhaps may not otherwise get to enjoy.
Hopefully, young people too will be among those that are nominated and will be among those who benefit from the Smile Ticket scheme, by perhaps attending their first ever professional football match. These youngsters are the very same people who are the potential die-hard fans of the future, and they will be the lifeblood of the club in the years ahead.
So the idea is that the trust will invite nominations from anyone to get free tickets for people that they feel are worthy of receiving a reward, a thank you or simply just a big pat on the back in the shape of a free ticket. Once we have received the nominations, a panel made up of TUST board members will sit and decide whether they feel that the nominations received are deserving of a free ticket or tickets based on the evidence and information supplied.
We are looking to reward those in our community who have given of themselves, those who perhaps have done voluntary work, those who have acted bravely, those who have enormous courage. Perhaps you know of someone who fits the bill? Perhaps it's a local people's champion, a hero who has done something very brave or maybe a volunteer who diligently works hard on behalf of other people never looking for a thank you or a reward. Undoubtedly there are lots of unsung heroes out there in and around South Devon, so let's hear all about them.
The Smile Ticket initiative will be officially launched for the game versus Cambridge United on December 6, which as we have told you before is to be TUST Day, with a whole number of other events planned for that day.
In order to officially launch the Smile Tickets, on that day we will be inviting 10 worthy recipients along to the match which we have selected for a variety of reasons, but in the main for their standing in the local community.
Those selected to receive these initial Smile Tickets will also be treated to lunch in the club's No:10 restaurant, as the trust are associate sponsors for that match.
So from now on we are inviting nominations for all games for the rest of the season subsequent to the Cambridge game.
So if you know of someone who you believe is deserving of receiving a Smile Ticket please complete an application form and get it to us as soon as possible so that we can start to go through the nominations and begin to allocate the tickets to those that deserve them, have earnt them or are just due a good day out.
A Smile Application Form is in the Downloads section.
