FAMILY and friends of a much-loved young North Warwickshire man have passed another milestone in his memory.
More than £30,000 has now been raised for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust to honour the courage of John Holland from Atherstone.
All of the money has been donated to the trust to help the fight against the incurable lung disease that tragically claimed the life of the 20-year-old two years ago.
More than £500 was raised at the latest annual charity football match that is played in the memory of the `soccer mad' youngster and which took the figure past the £30,000 mark.
His grandmother, the Rev Betty Stephenson, said: "We are very grateful for the wonderful help and support that we received.
"Cystic Fibrosis is a life-limiting disease which clogs the patient's lungs so that they cannot breathe. As yet, there is no cure so we need to keep raising funds to find that cure."
The two teams who took part in the charity match at the 3Ms ground in Witherley Road, Atherstone were The Old Uns and The Holland Boys, all family and friends of John.
His dad Paul Holland was referee, his step-father, his `Daddy' Dave Kirkland captained The Old Uns and The Holland Boys were skippered by his best friend, Craig Downing.
The Old Uns wore Arsenal shirts, John's favourite team, which came from the Emirates Stadium specially for the match while The Holland Boys played in their official Netherlands/Holland jerseys.
Most of The Holland Boys played with John from when he was six until he was 14 and although admission to the match was free, the players from both sides paid £10 each to play.
But much of the money was raised after the game at the Gate pub in Ratcliffe Culey where John and his sister Kim, now 21, both worked.
Attractions included a barbecue, games including Play Your Cards Right which was won by Debbie Brown, who gave her £20 prize back, and an hilarious quiz.
A total of £533 was raised and the and the family have now donated more than £2,000 to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust this year alone.
The rest of the money was raised by from a sponsored sky dive by John's mum Liz Kirkland and his step-dad Dave Kirkland ran the London Marathon.
His family and friends started raising money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust when he was diagnosed with the disease shortly after he was born.
"Sunday was an emotional day for us," said Liz Kirkland. "We had intended to wind down our fundraising, but we have decided to carry on."
She added: "We can't help John any more, but we can help other sufferers and keep his memory alive at the same time."
Anyone who wants to make a donation to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust can ring 07891 426 343 or sent it c/o 60, Church Walk, Mancetter, Atherstone, Cv9 1PU.
