Dig deep for little Joe Joe

APPEAL . . . Joe Joe with, from left, Andrea McKenna (Joe Joe’s auntie), Oldham RL mascot Roary, Billy Atherton (Joe Joe’s dad) and grandma Marilyn Atherton

OLDHAM RL is helping a local family to raise money for their four-year-old boy with severe disabilities.

Joseph Atherton - known as Joe Joe - will be mascot for the day as Oldham RL takes on Gloucester All Golds on Sunday, and will lead the team out in his wheelchair.

His story will also be told over the public address system and a collection taken.

Joe Joe was starved of oxygen at birth and spent weeks in a special baby unit with brain damage and other conditions. He is unable to do almost everything for himself, even swallow, eat or drink.

Though Joe Joe and his parents Sarah and Billy live in Widnes where he attends a special school, most of the extended family live in Chadderton and Shaw.

Club chairman Chris Hamilton said: “Joe Joe is a lovely little boy, whose story has touched me deeply.”

Mr Hamilton, who has raised hundreds of pounds for breast-cancer charities in the past, is also planning a personal challenge to raise funds for Joe Joe, details of which will be announced later.

In charge of fund-raising are Joe Joe’s grandma, Marilyn Atherton, of Fold Green, Chadderton, and his auntie, Andrea McKenna, who lives in Shaw.

Donations can be made online at www.gofundme.com/8M30EK