A quartet of Pools players made a visit to a care home in the town on Thursday afternoon to surprise former star Joe Rayment and collect a donation to the Club.
Ryan Catterick, Scott Harrison, Lewis Hawkins and Liam Travers were all visitors to HC-One’s Sheraton Court where they met up with Rayment, who scored 17 goals in 65 matches for Pools during the 1950s.
Now 83, Rayment still keeps a keen eye on Pools results and was delighted when he and his wife were able to come along and enjoy the recent win over Woking at Victoria Park.
As a result of his and other residents’ connection with Pools, care home bosses decided to organise a special coffee morning to raise funds to donate to the Club.
And on Thursday, Joe – accompanied by Sheraton Court’s Wellbeing Co-Ordinator Christine Terry – presented the players with a cheque for £120.
“Joe is such a lovely character and he loves talking his football days so to have people he can share his experiences with is great for his wellbeing and that’s what it’s all about,” explained Michael Forster, Deputy Manager at Sheraton Court.
“Hartlepool United is something a lot of our residents hold dear and have fond memories of, so to help support the club in any way we can is a worthwhile cause.
“It’s always good to have the lads come in and spend time at Sheraton Court.”
It isn’t the first time that the players have visited Joe and his friends at the care home – they also popped along back in November to officially unveil a Pools mural designed by one of the Sheraton Court staff members.
The bubbly Rayment made a big impression on them during that visit and they were keen to call in to see how he was getting on and find out how much he enjoyed his trip to The Vic last month.
“He’s so funny and a pleasure to be around,” Scott Harrison told us.
“All the lads loved him when we met him last year so were only too happy to visit again, especially after the care home have being working to raise money for the Club.
“It’s great that Joe was able to get along to a game – and we won against Woking too so we’ll have to organise for him to be in the crowd more often!”