AS Steve Prescott and Paul Sculthorpe tackle their toughest challenge to date, Saints star Jon Wilkin has pledged his allegiance to the cause.

2012 marks his testimonial year, something he hopes will prove successful for both him and the Steve Prescott Foundation.

The foundation is a partner charity to his testimonial year, and Wilkin says a proportion of the proceeds will go straight to the worthy cause.

Having already presented the foundation with a £1,250 cheque, raised through a corporate event earlier this year, Wilkin hopes the funds will keep rolling in.

St Helens Star columnist, Wilkin said: “I will be continuing that kind of support throughout the year.

“I’m hoping this year marks a successful year for me in terms of raising funds for my testimonial but also for Steve, because he’s got such a big challenge on the horizon.”

As well as corporate events, Wilkin has big plans for his testimonial year, including a race day at Haydock Park in May and a comedy night featuring Johnny Vegas at the Theatre Royal.

Hoping to involve Saints fans as much as possible, he says there will be several opportunities for fans to get involved with fans forums and events taking place throughout the year.

Wilkin told the Star how grateful he is for the dedication and support given to him and the club through thick and thin.

He said: “These guys who spend their money and time at the club are the people who really fund my job, and I understand without them my job doesn’t exist, so I really appreciate all the help and the efforts they put into my career, and it’s good to speak to them and to give something back.”

Hoping to involve the people of St Helens in sport even more, Wilkin is getting behind the Olympics and hopes to encourage more youngsters to do the same.

He said: “We have the responsibility in this town to make sure that the Olympics ties in with what we do at the rugby club, and ensure that the town is making the most of this opportunity to promote healthy lifestyles, wellbeing and promote sporting activity in the area.

“I think we’d love to organise some sort of campaign through the schools, through the club and maybe mimic the Olympics in a smaller way.

“I’m sure there are things like this happening, but we could use the players and take part with the kids, and I’d certainly support that and love to do it myself.

“The legacy of the Olympics is not so much the facilities and the fantastic facilities that will be left, but it’s the mindset of the people.

“Now we need to change our culture from being a sit-inside, watching TV on the internet mindset to getting outside and being active, taking part in sport. That’s what I’m passionate about.”