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Hastings United Football Club's memorable achievement in reaching the third round of the F.A. Cup last season may now be just a distant memory, but fifteen months on, the Club will be delighted to present two local charities with donations of £1,000 as a result of that historic run.

The F.A. Community Shield, contested as the traditional curtain raiser to each new season by the reigning Premier League champions and F.A. Cup holders, helps to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds through a combination of ticket sales and match programmes.

All clubs that compete in the F.A. Cup from the first round onwards then receive £2,000 from these funds to donate to up to three local charities or community based projects of their choice.

United has decided to split the sum between Charity For Kids and the Hastings Branch of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Cheques will be presented to representatives from both charities during the half time interval during the last league game of the season Crawley Down Gatwick on Saturday afternoon.

Charity For Kids has been established to make a difference to the lives of sick. disabled and terminally ill children in Hastings, St Leonards, Bexhill, Battle and the surrounding area. The organisation is run by volunteers and its aim is to set up a much needed local respite facility. On behalf of the charity, Paul Harris expressed his delight at the donation and the help that the money will provide.

The R.N.L.I. should need no introduction, as its volunteers have been saving lives at sea around Hastings for over 150 years. The donation will go towards equipment costs and crew training, helping to ensure that local waters remain as safe as possible.

Hastings R.N.L.I. coxswain Steve Warne said, "Everyone at the lifeboat station is really grateful to Hastings United for this fabulous donation. The R.N.L.I. can only operate through the generosity of the general public, and it is even more special when that generosity comes from so close to home."

Earlier this season, the U's raised nearly £1,000 for St Michael's Hospice, when supporters were invited to pay what they wanted to attend the home game against Walton & Hersham, the Club donating this sum to the Hospice.

United director Simon Rudkins commented, "It really is great news that the Football Club, itself run by volunteers, has been able to support three brilliant local causes over the course of the last twelve months, and we will continue to do what we can in the future to be a positive part of the Hastings community."