J.K. Rowling donates £5K to Wooden Spoon rugby charity

by · February 20, 2015

J.K. Rowling is well known for her charitable donations, and she has even set up her own charity, Lumos, to continue her good work. Followers of Jo’s on Twitter will also know that Jo is a huge rugby fan and was out last week at the Scotland vs. Wales rugby match. You may remember, too, that Jo revealed last year on Pottermore that rugby was the wizarding world’s Muggle sport of choice.

It’s no surprise, then, these two things considered, that Jo has made a sizable donation to Wooden Spoon, the children’s charity of rugby. Jo donated £5,ooo to the fundraising campaign of Scottish rugby player Geoff Cross. Geoff currently plays for Scotland, Jo’s team, and has been growing a rather impressive beard in order to raise the money.

On the campaign, Geoff said,

I have been tempted in recent weeks to keep growing my beard, but after a year’s growth and an increasing amount of pressure from my wife I have decided to shave off my now infamous beard in the name of charity.

However, before I go [anywhere] near the clippers we need to raise £10,000.

He further stated that

the money raised will go to the children’s charity Wooden Spoon, which is dedicated to transforming the lives of disadvantaged children and young people across the British Isles through the power of rugby. It will also support my former Edinburgh Rugby club mate, John Houston’s, fundraising efforts. He needs to raise £50,000 for the 2015 Wooden Spoon Arctic Rugby Challenge.

Here’s some more about the charity itself:

Wooden Spoon is the UK’s leading grant-making charity dedicated to helping disadvantaged and disabled children and young people through rugby.

We are one of the country’s largest funders of respite and medical treatment centres, sensory rooms, specialist playgrounds, sports activity areas and community[-]based programmes in the UK.

Inspired by our rugby heritage, we’ve been able to help over a million children and young people through our life-changing projects since we were founded in 1983.

Let’s hope Geoff reaches his goal soon!

Find out more about the Wooden Spoon charity here and Geoff’s fundraising campaign here.