FOR THE second year running, Norwich City fans have dug deep and helped to raise almost £19,000 for East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH) - this year's winners of Aviva's highly successful 'Community Chest' initiative.

Aviva's generosity enabled EACH to experience a day as Club sponsors at the Tranmere match on November 14, following a voting process through the Eastern Daily Press and its readers. EACH provides care and support for life-threatened children and their families in their own homes, as well as at the charity's hospices.

The local charity's logo replaced the Aviva logo on every City player's shirt and these match-worn shirts were auctioned off. In addition, a pre-match bucket-collection also gave the opportunity to raise some much-needed funds for their Quiddenham-based hospice.

Nick Gibbs, Aviva Sponsorship Manager said, "Saturday was the culmination of a great few weeks for Aviva and Each. To hand over a cheque to EACH for almost £19,000 was fantastic, but the benefits don't end there. The Aviva Community Chest was also about raising the profile of a local charity to help create a legacy of support. This is now happening for EACH with other organisations making contact to help.

"In addition to money being raised through the bucket collection and the auction of the unique match worn shirts, Aviva has matched all money raised, pound for pound."

Lindsey Newton from EACH said, "We can't thank Aviva, Norwich City and the public who voted for us to win the Community Chest Challenge enough. They have helped us to raise vital funds and raise our profile in the region.

"We were overwhelmed by the generosity of the supporters at the match last month, who endured howling winds and lashing rain to donate money to EACH. Thank you to everyone who put their hand in their pocket to give to us- your generosity means we can continue to provide vital care and support to life-threatened children and their families."