Sky Bet are looking to give back during the festive season after pledging to donate £1000 to the British Heart Foundation for every EFL goal on Boxing Day.
As fans prepare to unwind for the festive period, there’s many who will be looking forward to watching the football action that’s set to take place on the 26th.
There’ll be 36 matches across the Championship, League One and League Two on the day and there’s plenty to play for with Sky Bet’s latest pledge.
As part of their Every Minute Matters campaign with the BHF, the bookmakers will donate £1,000-per-goal – with as much as £100,000 potentially going to charity.
The campaign itself has so far inspired 147,000 people to start learning CPR, as it closes in on it’s target of 270,000 set back in May.
As part of this latest step of the campaign, lifelong Sheffield Wednesday fan Ellie Starks met up with club captain Barry Bannan to share her incredible story of having to step up and save the life of a loved one.
Lifelong Sheffield Wednesday fan Ellie Starks (left) met up with club captain Barry Bannan (middle) to share her incredible story of having to step up and save the life of her dad (right)
Sky Bet pledged to donate £1000 to the British Heart Foundation for every goal on Boxing Day
Ellie – a palliative care nurse from Worksop – saved her Dad, Dennis’s, life in August 2023 by administering CPR when he collapsed in the living room while watching a Sheffield Wednesday game.
Ellie Starks, now aged 28, said: ‘Looking back now, I don’t know how I managed to stay so calm. I knew Dad had suffered a cardiac arrest from my medical training as he felt clammy, and I couldn’t feel a pulse.
‘I managed somehow to drag Dad onto the floor. He’s 6ft 2ins and weighs 15 stone. My CPR training immediately kicked in and I just kept going with the compressions until help arrived.’
Dennis, aged 71, added: ‘Walking Ellie down the aisle was very emotional. That happy day really brought home to me just how lucky I’d been.
‘Ellie means everything to me, and I’ll never forget what she did to save my life. I simply wouldn’t be here without CPR; it’s why I want to play my part in raising awareness of this vital campaign and I’d encourage all Wednesday fans to spare just 15 minutes to learn lifesaving CPR.’
Sheffield Wednesday captain Barry Bannan, meanwhile, said: ‘I recently had the privilege of meeting cardiac arrest survivor Dennis and his incredibly brave daughter Ellie, and I was blown away by their story. What really hit home to me isn’t just that CPR is a lifesaver, it’s that anyone can learn CPR.
It comes as the latest move for their ‘Every Minute Matters’ campaign launched back in May
He continued: ‘It’s not complicated, you can learn in just 15 minutes with the BHF’s online RevivR tool. That’s why I’m calling on all football fans to give just 15 minutes of time over the Christmas holidays – it could make all the difference if someone you know collapsed and needed your help.’
Launched in May this year by Sky Bet in partnership with the BHF, the groundbreaking Every Minute Matters campaign is on a mission to raise £3 million for the BHF and encourage 270,000 football fans to learn CPR.
The campaign has already proved a big hit, with an incredible £839,000 raised so far, liga788 including £380,000 from the Sky Bet Play Offs in May and £370,000 since August through Sky Bet’s pledge to donate £10,000 for every ‘stoppage time’ goal during the EFL 2024-2025 season.
Coventry City’s American striker Haji Wright holds the honour of being responsible for the most money donated of any player in the EFL, with his two goals on or after the 90′ mark contributing £20,000.