This year’s Championships saw the return of one of Wimbledon’s most well-loved traditions; Ticket Resale.

Established nearly 70 years ago, the Ticket Resale scheme invites spectators leaving the Grounds to hand back their tickets to be re-sold for charity. More than £4 million has been raised since Ticket Resale began in 1954, with the proceeds distributed by the Wimbledon Foundation, the charitable arm of The All England Lawn Tennis Club and The Championships.

This year, Ticket Resale raised over £404,000, including a generous contribution of £170,000 from HSBC. The proceeds have been donated by the Wimbledon Foundation to charities in line with its four long-term goals: strengthening the local community, promoting healthy and active lives, inspiring the next generation and responding in times of need.

Local charities to receive donations include the Mayor of Merton’s Charities, the Mayor of Wandsworth’s Charities, Mitcham Town Community Trust and two homeless shelters – Glass Door in Wandsworth and the Merton Winter Night Shelter both of which provide a warm dry place to sleep, a hot meal and support in getting people back on their feet.

Donations have been made to charities promoting healthy and active lives including Fields in Trust and The Dan Maskell Tennis Trust and to organisations creating opportunities for young people including Give It Your Max, IC Philanthropy Foundation and Tennis First.

In recognition of the integral role members of the armed forces and emergency services play as Service Stewards at The Championships, grants totalling £250,000 have been made to ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, the Metropolitan & City Police Orphans Fund, the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity and The Fire Fighters Charity.

When British veteran Charles Louis’s home was destroyed by Hurricane Maria in Dominica, he was forced to evacuate back to the UK where he slept on his daughter's sofa for a year. ABF The Soldiers’ Charity’s ‘Homes and Houses’ project, supported by Ticket Resale, helped Charles to find appropriate housing in London and awarded him a grant to pay for essential furniture. Charles now has a secure and comfortable place to live and can sleep in a bed again. “I cannot thank The Soldiers’ Charity enough for supporting me with my flat so many years after leaving the Army. It was like I found my paradise.”

The Honorary Stewards, who welcome and look after spectators at The Championships, are also invited to nominate beneficiary charities and this year chose Princess Alice Hospice and Suited & Booted, a charity providing vulnerable, unemployed and low-income men with suitable clothing for interviews as well as advice and mentoring. John said, “Suited & Booted treated me with such kindness and spoke to me with such respect and care. They spent time with me to help find a suit that I could wear for a job interview. I think my potential employer was so impressed with how I looked, that I was assigned to work in the menswear department of their flagship store in Oxford Street.”

By returning your ticket, not only are you enabling your seat to be enjoyed by someone else. You might also be helping to transform someone’s life.