Archive for year: 2020

Lifelong Bristol City fan Tom Blackburn has lost an incredible eight percent of his body weight thanks to Bristol City’s innovative Slim to Win project.   

The project run by Bristol City Robins Foundation’s is helping men across Bristol get fit and lose weight with members losing more than 175kg since September.

Tom told the Foundation:

“The main reason I joined Slim2Win was to improve my health so that I’m able to be an active dad to my two toddlers.

Slim2Win is an innovative health and wellbeing project ran by City’s official charity – the Robins Foundation – which harnesses the competitive nature of football to help men with unhealthy BMI’s to improve their fitness and lose weight.  Tom continues,

“The environment at the sessions and the guys I play with have helped me every step of the way and have provided me with great motivation. I would recommend the project to anyone.”

Bristol City Robins Foundation Slim2Win coordinator, Lee Gillett, commented:

“The months of lockdown have had a serious impact on the lifestyles of us all, with many of us becoming less active and leading less healthy lifestyles. Not only has it had negative physical implications, but it has also had a negative social impact with many people becoming socially isolated.

“Slim2Win addresses both of these issues as it provides the encouragement and the motivation needed to help members achieve their weight loss targets, as well as combating isolation by providing members with a chance to socialise and stay connected.

“It’s been great to see so many of our participants achieve their weight loss targets since the project resumed back in September.”

The EFL Trust’s network are supporting young people transition back into school life through the NCS ‘School Support Programme’.

So far, over 630 hours have been pledged to schools and this commitment will engage over 3,250 young people.  Working with schools across the country, the NCS School Support Programme focuses on 7 core areas to help young people. These include; health and wellbeing, employability, and skills for independent living.

Rotherham United Community Sport Trust (RUCST) have recently engaged 16 pupils at Abbey School in Rotherham through virtual sessions that aim to support their mental health, physical health, resilience, general daily organisation, and overall wellbeing.

The sessions are made as interactive as possible to keep the pupils engaged and cover topics such as stress busting, mood tracking, self-care, positive thinking, and how to improve overall mental and physical health.

One pupil said:

 “I felt shy at first but the lessons are fun and I have built up my confidence to speak to different people and within a group. I give the program 10/10. It has helped me recognise my own strengths and qualities that I can use in the future!”

Another pupil is really enjoying the session:

“Nicole and Joel are really funny and always make me laugh… I look forward every week to the sessions! I enjoy working with different students outside my class so we can all learn together and make new friends”

Schools are currently going though a very challenging period and the School Support Programme, as suggest in the title is there to support them and their pupils through this.

James Shaw, Careers Co-ordinator at Abbey school has welcome the programmes saying:

“The NCS School Support Program at Abbey School has been Amazing! It really has been a successful positive vehicle for driving collaborative blended learning and has enabled our young people to build friendships with other young people and learn about skills for the future to succeed together and be the best we can be!”

During one of the session delivered by RUCST, young people were given an insight into their mental health through an engaging ‘volcano experiment’. They created a metaphorical volcano that represented the build-up of stress, feelings and emotions until eventually the lava overflowed. This was a great way for the students to understand the importance of dealing with their stresses, emotions and feelings before things get too much.

The Peterborough United Foundation, the charitable trust of Peterborough United Football Club, have been addressing issues with local schoolchildren being hungry over the October half-term.  This school holiday almost 200 children have received food parcels, containing a range of nourishing items to cover the week break, when children are not receiving their usual free school meal.

The issue of children being hungry over school holidays and also during lockdown has been highlighted by Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford, and his campaign to tackle this concern with MP’s. The idea to help in Peterborough came from new Foundation CEO Gill Wignall and following discussions with supermarkets Morrisons and Asda, the project plan was devised and brought to fruition.

Gavin Slater, Community Manager for the Peterborough United Foundation said, “Seeing Marcus Rashford’s campaign and knowing many children that we work with on a regular basis were likely to be going hungry over half-term, we decided to donate food packages to the most vulnerable.  We spoke to our partner primary schools and identified nearly 200 children to receive the parcels.  We must thank both Morrisons and Asda for their support to make this happen and also Peterborough charity Food For Nought. Without their generosity it would not have been possible to feed so many.”

Many grateful children took their packages home on the last day of term, but packages were also delivered by the Foundation to children’s homes.  In Whittlesey, Executive Head Teacher of Park Lane and New Road Primary Schools, Rob Litten and PE Co-Ordinator Janette Bowden, delivered the packages to the recipients homes, on the first day of the holiday.

Bowden commented, “This is going to be a huge help to lots of our families within both our schools. Some of these families have been hit by losing jobs and being on furlough. This shows a great support from the schools to our families to really show them that we are there for support. We have worked with the Peterborough United Foundation on a number of activities and projects and thank them for supporting our families outside of school time.”

Foundation staff spent half a day assembling the parcels of cereals, pasta, fruit and other items, with excess items donated to Peterborough charity ‘Millfield Community Fridge’, who will distribute the items on the Foundation’s behalf to more grateful local residents in need.

Slater added, “We have had great support from our primary schools and their staff.  It is so pleasing to see how successful the project has been and how the packages have been so well received.  We hope to offer similar packages for other school holidays and increase the number of packages offered.”

Newcastle and Sunderland’s intense rivalry is being set aside today, as they send an important message to fellow football fans on World Mental Health Day – mental health has no team and no colours.

Brought together by Newcastle United Foundation and Sunderland AFC’s Foundation of Light, Geordies and Mackems alike are being encouraged to start potentially life-saving conversations with family and friends, or to take their own steps to share their mental wellbeing with others.

This year’s theme for World Mental Health Day is ‘mental health for all’, so the Newcastle United Foundation and Foundation of Light have released a powerful and compelling video featuring the stories of two fans who have received support through the club’s official charities, and as part of the Be a Game Changer campaign.

Andrew a life-long Sunderland fan, speaks about how a difficult, and heart-breaking, situation was the catalyst for him to seek help and open-up about how he was feeling. The life-changing support he needed came when he visited the Match Day Mental Health Hub at the Beacon of Light – a free service created by Sunderland AFC supporter group, Branch Liaison Council, and supported by the Foundation of Light – which provides fans access to free trained counsellors from Washington Mind.

Andrew a diehard Newcastle fan, tells of how he struggled with poor mental health for a number of years as a result of anxiety relating to his weight. Last year he tried to take his own life but found support through Newcastle United Foundation.

Ashley Lowe, Health and Wellbeing Manager at Newcastle United Foundation, said: “On World Mental Health Day, we are sharing an important and powerful message from Newcastle and Sunderland supporters themselves, who have come together to tell others that mental health is something you can talk about and you will be listened to. One in four of us will experience mental health issues at some point in our lives. These issues are indiscriminate and mental health has no club and no colours – our experiences with mental health make us human and we need to talk about it more openly to encourage potentially life-saving conversations. For men in particular, who love their club and their city – the Be A Game Changer campaign is here to support them and to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health.”

Funded by the North East and North Cumbria Suicide Prevention Network, the Be A Game Changer mental health awareness campaign aims to reduce the region’s suicide rates among men aged 20 to 49. In January this year, both charities joined forces to make a combined commitment to promote positive mental health to thousands of supporters visiting St. James’ Park and the Stadium of Light through the campaign.

Liz Barton-Jones, Foundation of Light’s Head of Health and Wellbeing, said: “We know that there are so many people out there struggling in silence; particularly men who are often led to believe sharing their feelings is ‘not what men do’. “Our Be A Game Changer campaign is there to let people know they will be listened to and supported, and it’s okay to not be okay. We hope the powerful video and the fans stories gets people talking – in Sunderland and Newcastle – as we know all it takes to potentially save a life, is to start that first conversation. If we can encourage just one fan to open up it’s been a success.”

The important and powerful message comes at a critical time for the region. The COVID-19 crisis has not only left stands at both stadiums empty, with supporters unable to share matchdays with loved ones or fellow fans, it has also resulted in an increase in mental health related issues as thousands struggle with social isolation, the worries of job security and the financial impact of the pandemic.

Throughout lockdown, both Foundations have adapted their health and wellbeing programmes to ensure participants of all ages remained engaged – in Newcastle, this included more than 1,000 phone calls made to elderly and vulnerable people, around 200 people given mental health guidance to lower anxiety and feeling of loneliness, and NHS staff invited to access Be A Game Changer mental wellness guidance online.

In Sunderland, elderly members of the community were supported through regular contact though phone calls and WhatsApp messages as part of the Extra Time Hub, with SAFC Director David Jones personally calling 45 fans. Sit and Be Fit exercise videos were shared online for those unable to get out, and the dedicated free fitness programme for fans, Fit Black Cats, temporarily moved to Facebook to continue supporting members, with each losing an average of 5kg during lockdown.

Be A Game Changer Facebook communities for both clubs have also played their part during lockdown as they have become an increasingly important hub to thousands of people, offering comfort, advice and practical information for those experiencing mental health issues or for friends and relatives supporting someone else.

With some lockdown restrictions lifted, both charities are back to operating a number of weekly health and wellbeing programmes, including Walking Football, free over-40s NHS health checks, specific mental health sessions with Fit Black Cats, 12^th Man and Washington Mind’s Get Set to Go programmes.

The Be A Game Changer campaign was originally launched in February 2019 to encouraged Newcastle United supporters to talk about they are really feeling and to recognise when they or their loved ones are in crisis.

For more information about Be a Game Changer in Newcastle, visit nufoundation.org.uk/beagamechanger.

For support and further information in Sunderland, please visit foundationoflight.co.uk/beagamechanger.

Alternatively, join the NUFC Facebook community or the SAFC Facebook community.