More than £1,400 has been raised so far at St Joseph’s College in honour of a pupil who died suddenly on holiday in Florida a year ago.
The Matthew Dunn Memorial Tournament took place at the Dumfries secondary school on Friday past with all year groups and staff taking part.
Smashing a £500 fundraising target, it honoured the memory of the much-missed Southerness teenager who was just 16 when he passed away .
He was a massive football fan who played for both Heston Rovers and Greystone Rovers and supported Queen of the South and Leeds United.
A group of close friends who are studying at St Joseph’s – Josh Allison , Fynn McGeorge, Amy Johnston – and his brother, Callum, wanted to “do something positive in Matthew’s name” and decided to raise money for Asthma + Lung UK for children.
They galvanised the whole school into action with the tournament and a non-tie day.
And they set up an online crowdfunding page for the tournament in the hope that the Dumfries and Galloway community and beyond will help raise even more money in Matthew’s name.
Anyone who wants to donate can still do at www.justgiving.com/page/matthewcharitymatch.
Josh, who said Matthew’s friends and family had gathered at his resting place, marked by a tree, at Roucan Loch to honour his anniversary the previous Sunday, was “delighted” with the show of support and thanked everyone who donated £1 to play, bought snacks or supported the crowdfunding page.
He added: “So far we have raised £1,444. We still have some snacks and drinks left to sell and hope to raise another £100 from that.
“Matthew was such an amazing friend and we all miss him so much.”
It is not the first fundraiser in Matthew’s name. His mum, Michelle Dunn, set up a memorial football match at Palmerston on April 29 this year between Heston Rovers and Greystone Rovers with the support of Queen of the South. Proceeds were split 50-50 between the amateur clubs.
He would have been 17 on April 4 and Michelle wanted the game to be held close to his birthday.
Also in May, Heston Rovers held their end of season awards at Dumfries Baptist Church and Michelle presented The Matthew Dunn endeavour trophy to James McCombe.
