Sheffield Wednesday is honoured to have been recognised in the Houses of Parliament today for the club's dedication to the local community.

An 'Early Day Motion' tabled in the House of Commons recognises the impact made by the club giving its shirt sponsorship to The Children's Hospital and urges other professional football clubs to follow SWFC's lead in the groundbreaking move as the first Football League club to create such a partnership.

The motion was submitted for debate in the House of Commons by Hillsborough MP Angela Smith with support being sought from other members of parliament.

It proposes: "That this House congratulates Sheffield Wednesday FC on its decision to engage as its main sponsor The Children's Hospital in Sheffield; recognizes the potential this creates for raising significant sums of money for a highly valued charity; notes that this partnership has already raised £50,000 for the charity and that the first major business has announced a sponsorship deal which will benefit both the charity and the club; and calls on other professional football clubs to follow Sheffield Wednesday's lead in forgoing sponsorship deals in order to build effective links with local charities and the communities they serve."

Sheffield Wednesday chairman, Lee Strafford, said: "It's great that our club has been recognised by parliament in this way. Our partnership with The Children's Hospital is something that we knew would have a very positive impact on the community and we are only starting to see that impact.

"To have helped raise £50,000 for The Children's Hospital Charity just a quarter of the way into the first season of this partnership is a fantastic achievement but many more benefits are yet to come. Sheffield Wednesday's partnership with The Children's Hospital has sparked the imaginations of many people, whether they are Owls fans or not, and it has been very rewarding to see so many people approaching the club with ideas to help raise funds for the charity."

Sheffield Wednesday's partnership with The Children's Hospital Sheffield was announced in February, giving the club's shirt sponsorship to the hospital. More than 10,000 SWFC replica shirts bearing The Children's Hospital logo have been sold since July, with £1 from each shirt being donated to the hospital's charity.

The Children's Hospital Charity has also raised funds from a Yorkshire Forward bursary recognising the partnership, by selling hospitality for an executive box at Hillsborough, and through various fundraising opportunities created by the partnership.

Early Day Motions
(from: http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/Default.aspx)
Early day motions (EDMs) are formal motions submitted for debate in the House of Commons. However, very few EDMs are actually debated. Instead, they are used for reasons such as publicising the views of individual MPs, drawing attention to specific events or campaigns, and demonstrating the extent of parliamentary support for a particular cause or point of view.

An MP can add their signature to an EDM to show their support. They can also submit amendments to an existing EDM.