How frustrating it can it be for us Derby fans! The team is plagued by injuries and struggling with disappointing results - Forest and Leicester are above us in the Championship table. Some fans were so frustrated during Derby’s televised home defeat by QPR that they threw their free commemorative T-shirts onto the pitch!

Don’t want your Rams-QPR T-shirt? Will never wear it again? We’re collecting them to bring a positive benefit to those in need, so Don’t Ditch It - Donate It. Please donate your Rams-QPR T-shirt to our appeal - put your unwanted tee to a good cause to help forget your frustration.

We’ve linked up with community and charity workers who will take your (clean) Rams-QPR shirts directly to displaced families and orphans in Ethiopia. Please don’t ignore this appeal - forget your frustration and contribute to this very good cause.

St Matthews Children’s Fund Ethiopia (SMCF) has been working for 12 years to deliver resources and bring relief to communities that have been suffering since the 1980s famines.

The charity operates nationwide with Derbyshire citizens undertaking work ‘in the field’ in Ethiopia. Other local charity workers work with orphanages in Tanzania. These charities bring support and sustainable development to poor urban communities in those African regions.

How can you help? Your unwanted Rams-QPR T-shirt is a basic essential that we can send to them - please donate it to the Don’t Ditch It Appeal for us to pass to SMCF. Please make sure your T-shirt is clean and usable! We’ve asked Derby County to support this appeal and donate other unused Rams-QPR T-shirts they collected after the game, and await their response.

Hurry! We need your T-shirts by next Saturday, 7th November ready for SMCF’s next visit to Ethiopia. Just bring your unwanted Rams-QPR T-shirt with you to the home game against Coventry next Friday evening and drop it in to our collection point - we will pass them all on to SMCF. Please advertise this appeal everywhere you can!

You can donate your Rams-QPR tees ALL WEEK from 9.00 am to 10.00 pm at Reception in the DW (formerly JJB) PowerLeague Soccerdome, opposite Pride Park Stadium.

RamsTrust is holding a special Don’t Ditch It ‘Rendezvous’ next Friday, 6th November, in the foyer of the DW Soccerdome from 6.00 to 7.15 pm on Friday, just before Derby County’s home game with Coventry City.

Other local T-shirt collection points may be nominated soon - please watch out for further updates to this bulletin.

The charities are thrilled to know that Rams fans are helping their cause by donating T-shirts! Please take the time to donate your Rams-QPR tee to the appeal - and ask any other Rams fans you know to do so, too!

You can read more about SMCF on their website:
http://www.smcfethiopia.org/

Please DON'T DITCH your Rams-QPR T-shirt - DONATE IT NOW!

MANY THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

The Trader column is for individual members of RamsTrust to put their point of view across in the media. Although the views will not contravene the principles of the trust, the views expressed are entirely personal to the author and do not necessarily represent RamsTrust policy.