MK Dons midfielder Peter Leven signed off his Help for Heroes fundraising efforts at Saturday’s Armed Forces Day, after the final funds were pledged by one of the Scot’s key backers.

 

Peter’s challenge last season, where he donated £5 to the charity for every goal the Dons scored in all competitions, drew a huge amount of support from fellow pros, supporters and sponsors throughout the campaign.

 

Among the big supporters were online betting giants Betfair, who vowed to match Peter’s own contribution and duly delivered with a donation of £400 for the 80 goals the Dons bagged over the course of the season.

 

That pledge took Peter’s total on his own Just Giving page over the £7,000-mark, and the Dons midfielder used Saturday’s Armed Forces Day as the perfect opportunity to wrap up the formalities.

 

Captain Bill Holland from E COY 7 Rifles, based just a few miles from the stadium in Blakelands, accepted the cheque on behalf of Help for Heroes, who were the Football League’s Official Charity Partner for the 2009/10 season.

 

Peter said: “I’d like to thank everyone who contributed; I never imagined I’d have had so much support from so many people and it’s been great to see how highly everyone values the work of our Armed Forces.

 

“Money is tight for a lot of people in the world at the moment, so to see everyone digging deep and helping me raise so much money has just been a heart-warming experience.

 

“I’d like to offer a special thanks to Betfair, who made their pledge to match my contribution very early-on and have honoured that in time to make the presentation at this year’s Armed Forces Day.”

 

The £7,092.30p Peter raised, combined with the money raised by the 1,000-mile Bike Challenge completed by Club staff including former skipper Paul Mitchell, means MK Dons and MK Dons SET raised nearly £18,000 for Help for Heroes last season.

 

Mitch along with Darren Oldroyd, Dave Pearson, James Parkinson and John Lloyd raised £21,599.15 by cycling from Lands End to John o’Groats back in June, with half of the money donated to Help for Heroes and half to the charitable MK Dons Sport & Education Trust.