By Chris Slavin
Familiar faces chipped in to get plenty of jobs done on Saturday and Sunday, but we also had a helping hand from supporters of another club.
Father-and-son James and Eddie Kemp are Tottenham Hotspur fans, but both were busy doing their bit for AFC Wimbledon at the work weekend.
James said: “I wanted my son to come down here and see that this ground does not magically get cleaned. I saw the work weekend advertised on the website and it is good for him to come to an event like this and see what goes on. With Spurs moving to Wembley, I want my son to go to football matches like I used to go to when I was a kid. My friend’s Dad took me along to a match at Plough Lane in 1989 and I went for a few years, but then I started going to watch Tottenham. We live local to here though so I thought it would be good to start coming to matches here. I want him to see proper football so I’ve recently bought us season tickets.”
Fans of all ages helped spruce up areas inside and outside the stadium on Bank Holiday weekend. Twenty-two-year-old Tom Brett was busy cleaning up in the car park and he was happy to do his bit after being away in previous summers.
“I thought this would be a good way to help the club out by volunteering,” said Tom. “We are a fans-run club and that is obvious when you come to events like this. I was away at university so I was not able to come in years gone by. The primary reason for supporting Wimbledon is that they are my local club, but you have more of an affiliation with it because it is not run by a multi-millionaire.”
Roger Rogowski has supported Wimbledon since the 1970s – his first game was the famous FA Cup replay against Leeds United – but he travelled in from Sevenoaks, Kent, to contribute on Saturday.
“My opportunity to volunteer for the club is very limited,” said Roger. “Therefore the least I can do is come to this during the close season. I’ve looked for things I can do around the club, but it is difficult to find something that fits in for me. I’ve been coming along to the work weekends for eight or nine years now and doing all sorts of jobs. Today, I am little-picking like a true Womble! We’ve had so many promotions and now we are only two divisions away from the top, but we’ve still retained that same club ethos. I don’t think any of us thought we would get this far and we should all be so immensely proud of the club.”
A total of 70 volunteers helped spruce up the stadium at the first close season work weekend and the club thanks all those dedicated supporters who attended.
Pictures of supporters doing jobs feature in the gallery with this article and a short video put together by Rob Cornell is available via the link below.
The second work weekend of the summer will be held on 8/9 July.
If you are able to help, whether for a few hours or for a full day, please e-mail info@afcwimbledon.co.uk or ring the office on 020 8547 3528.