The entire fanbase of Sheffield United was shaken to the core when one of our own Jonny Gascoigne, aged 35, sadly passed away last week after a battle with mental health.
Jonny, who was a well-known content creator, creating videos and vlogs about his beloved Blades for his YouTube channel the Shoreham View, was open about his struggles and was always there to offer support to others that also struggled themselves.
A fellow Sheffield United content creator, and friend of Jonny, Nick Wylie, 37, who runs the Sheff United Way YouTube channel, along with Hal Stewart, decided to set up a GoFundMe page in honour of Jonny Gascoigne to help fund the funeral costs, which was a great gesture.
In just a short few days, the page has incredibly received over £8000 in donations, and it is instances like this that remind you that there are still some great people in this world we live in.
Speaking in tribute to Jonny, Nick said: “It wasn’t just the fact that he was so helpful – he was so passionate about the things we were talking about, that made him want to help you even more. He loved what he did. He was very eccentric – quite introverted, but he was a very lovely person. Very outspoken, very passionate about his job and about Sheffield United – he just wanted things to be right with the world. He was passionate about everything that he did.”
“It’s just incredible that we’ve smashed it. At first I agreed with Hal that we maybe should have gone a little bit lower but actually thinking about it, the fact that we set the target so high at £5,000 and it’s exceeded is just phenomenal. It’s a testament to the Sheffield United community and the footballing community in content creation.”
Jonny’s father, Kevin Gascoigne, recently appeared on the Sheff United Way podcast and he expressed his gratitude to everybody in the football community for their kind words and donations to this brilliant cause.
Kevin said: “I’m absolutely gobsmacked. The kindness of people is just totally unbelievable, the response has blown us away. The thought that people have done that for us, and for Jonny in gratitude for what has done over the years, is amazing. Even if you’ve just sent us a message, you’ve done us the world of good and we thank you very very much.”
There will be a tribute for Jonny Gascoigne on Wednesday evening when the Blades host Swansea City at Bramall Lane.
For those who wish to attend the funeral, the Gascoigne family has invited anyone who is able to attend the funeral to come and pay their last respects to Jonny on Saturday, October 19th, at 10:30AM at Hutcliffe Wood Crematorium.