Community news
Written by: Joe
Lewes FC’s Amber-Keegan Stobbs says she is grateful for the support both her teammates and the Rooks fans have shown her in getting the message out there about improving our mental health.
The Rooks players wore If U Care Share T-shirts in support of world suicide prevention month ahead of Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Sheffield United.
Stobbs scored a brilliant second for Lewes, charging forward with the ball before letting loose a sublime shot from distance to double the hosts’ lead.
And while Lewes were unable to hold on to all three points, Stobbs was nevertheless proud of the team.
“That goals is for the charity,” she says. “Mental health is my biggest passion and I’ll dedicate the rest of my life to working on this.
“So I want to dedicate my goal to the cause, to If U Care Share and to the work I’ve done to be in the position I am today. The team and the club are backing me on this campaign, it’s just amazing and I’m really grateful for it.
“I only sent the girls a paragraph of what If U Care Share is all about fairly recently. They were immediately keen to get involved and we wanted to do it for the postponed Blackburn game.
“The players were asking about it on Sunday, saying ‘I love these shirts, can we keep them?’. It’s amazing support. They were all talking about it in the changing room and that makes such a difference.”
‘Oh let’s hit this’
Reflecting on her stunning strike in the first half on Sunday, Stobbs adds: “I’ve been getting into those types of positions quite a lot, especially this last week in training.
“In a game I don’t usually do that, I would usually look to slot it through. But on Sunday it just opened up and I thought Krafty was offside, so I didn’t play her in.
“Instead I just thought ‘oh let’s hit this’ and, cliche as it sounds, as soon as I hit it I knew it was flying in. It was a sweet connection – I’ll have to watch that one back!”
If you are worried about something, talk to If U Care Share’s trained volunteers with a free, confidential and 24/7 text service. Text IUCS to 85258. Fans can also donate to If U Care Share, either with a one-off donation or a direct debit. They are also selling their Inside Out T-shirts online.