Whitehaven will be highlighting the wider rugby league family at their Championship game with Midlands Hurricanes on Sunday.
The Cumbrian club will be distributing collection buckets among the crowd to support a fundraiser for a former Midlands player.
Errol Carter has recently announced that he has been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour and is receiving palliative care.
Carter, 30, was originally a product of the London Broncos academy and played 27 times for the Hurricanes when they ran as Coventry Bears between 2018 and 2019. He scored five tries and became a fans favourite for his positive attitude and engagement with supporters regardless of whether they had won, lost or drawn.
He also played for a number of expansion clubs over eight seasons, including Oxford, Gloucestershire All Golds, South Wales Scorpions, London Skolars and most recently Cornwall.
He also earned international honours, playing for England Students and was a Turkish dual-code international, playing eight times for the country’s league side, including the 2018 Emerging Nations Championship whilst at the Bears.
The Midlands club say: “The last couple of years have been nothing short of a battle for Errol. Whilst making his international Union debut for Turkey he collapsed and was eventually diagnosed with Cauda Equina Syndrome (CES) – a rare spinal disorder which causes paralysis and affects just six in one million people.
“Errol battled CES bravely, undergoing two complicated operations and spending several months in hospital, after which he has remained in a wheelchair. However, Errol unfortunately suffered further health complications regarding his vision, with further scans uncovering the brain tumour last year.
“Former Canes fullback Phil Cowburn is running in both the Manchester Marathon in April and Newcastle’s Great North Run in September to raise money for Errol’s care costs and more widely into brain tumour research that can help people in Errol’s situation.
“Former Cane and Coventry Bears player Ben Stead is also running the Rob Burrow Marathon in Leeds this May aiming to raise funds for Errol (as well as MND).
“We’re sure we speak for everyone when we say that Phil and Ben’s efforts in support of Errol are nothing short of amazing and would encourage everyone to support both as they take on their challenges this year.”
Ahead of their bucket collection Whitehaven said: “We would encourage any fans who can donate to do so and thank you in advance for your generosity.”
The fundraising page is at https://gofund.me/9755d0ebe
