Mental health is just as important as physical – there should be no shame in saying ‘I think I need help.”

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“The sport really changed my life in so many ways mentally and physically. I have lost weight and also have dropped my blood sugar levels to a safer level.” say Duncan, who takes part in Stevenage FC’s Get Set to Go Football Session.

Duncan, aged 50, has a history of suffering with anxiety, depression and Type II Diabetes. He joined the Get Set to Go, which is run in partnership with Mind in Mid Herts, back in January 2020. Despite initial nerves linked to his anxiety, Duncan joined the sessions from week 1 and found that as the weeks went on, not only did his physical health improve, stating weight loss and better control of his blood sugar levels, but his mental health also significantly improved.

He says “The best thing I could have done was getting in contact with Mind in Mid Herts, as I wanted to be more active to lose weight and get my blood sugars under control. Mental health is just as important as physical and there should be no shame in saying ‘I think I need help.”

Although the football sessions had to be suspended during the lockdown period, Duncan continued to stay active by joining in with virtual fitness sessions lead by the Foundation and Mind in Mid Herts. He managed to improve his fitness levels even further through these sessions and found that the weekly group engagement was key in maintaining his social contact. These sessions took place weekly and helped maintain a sense of community for the participants  keeping them engaged in being active. There was even ‘guest visits’ from the First Team Manager Alex Revell.

Duncan has made remarkable progress with Stevenage FC, so much so, he has been appointed the Clubs Get Set Go Champion.  As part of this role he, this week, presented Stevenage Captain Scott Cuthbert with his PFA Community Player of the Year Award for 2019/20.

The outdoor football sessions have now returned and Duncan is thriving by being able to engage with like-minded people who are in a similar position to him and continue to play the sport that he loves.

Duncan concludes, “A massive thank you to everyone involved with Mind, Get Set to Go and Stevenage FC Foundation, you really have changed my life for the better.”

 

Simon “The football sessions at Tranmere have helped me deal with my anxiety.”

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The power of football has always played a huge part in the life of Simon Ryecroft and has acted as a coping mechanism to deal with his depression and anxiety.

Simon, aged 40, is a regular participant at Tranmere Rovers in the Community’s Active Rovers Over 40s football sessions, and has benefited significantly, both mentally and physically, from participating in the weekly sessions at Prenton Park.

Speaking to raise awareness for World Mental Health Day 2020, Simon wanted to share his story of having a mental breakdown, and how Tranmere Rovers helped in his road to recovery.

“I hadn’t played football for a long time, but I saw on social media about the football sessions, but I went along to try, and I have never looked back. That is now over three years ago. Time has flown by. I had a breakdown and a depressive episode four years ago and I got diagnosed with PCSD, an anxiety disorder, depression and OCD.

“Mental health affects a lot of people and through my own experiences, I know a lot of men have troubles talking about it. “I was quite ill for a period of time, but I have always been quite open talking about my mental health. I realised it is something a lot of people have experienced but don’t always feel comfortable talking about it. “I was surprised how many lads I know and in football in particular, you wouldn’t have thought had any issues with mental health. I had a few conversations because I opened the subject with people and they shared their issues too. Gradually over the last few years, it is becoming a subject lads are finding it easier to talk about.

“We now see famous footballers and boxers talking about their experiences and making their mental health problems public. I think sharing helps.”

Simon, who has always had a keen interest in football since an early age, admitted he is not the only one who has used football as a way to cope.

He continued: “The football sessions at Tranmere have helped me deal with my anxiety. I know a lot of lads have said it is the only time they feel like they have not got problems is when they play football.

“The people at Tranmere Rovers Football Club are extremely friendly and the emphasis was having a good time. I have got my fitness back up and I have met some very positive people. “I was very low on motivation and depressed, I wasn’t doing much in my life general. Football has always been there in my life and by joining the sessions at Tranmere, it gave me confidence again. It has been massive for me. It has given me routine and something to look forward to each and every week. I feel happy and it has given me a buzz when I head home.

“It is difficult when you are in that place and depressed. It is not a nice place when you don’t have the motivation to go out and it is hard to make that first step. Once you have done the first step, you feel so much better. Tranmere Rovers is such a welcoming football club and when new lads turn up, the others make them feel right at home.”

 

Bolton Manager Ian Evatt Helps Tackle Loneliness for World Mental Health Day

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Ahead of World Mental Health Day Bolton Wanderers Manager, Ian Evatt surprise garden gate visit to two long standing season ticket holders.

As part of the EFL’s charity partnership with Mind over the past two seasons, the EFL has worked with the mental health charity to launch a campaign to mark World Mental Health Day, which takes place on 10th October each year, with this year focusing on the ‘Do one thing’ campaign.

The ‘Do one thing’ campaign may involve reaching out to a friend, taking part in physical exercise, meditating or listening to music in order to look after your own mental health and that of others.

Wanderers are also one of 32 clubs who are part of EFL Trust’s Tackling Loneliness Together Campaign. Recognising the massive affect that loneliness can have on mental health, particularly among older people, Bolton focused their ‘one thing’ on Loneliness.

Evatt visited supporters Anne and Marie in a garden gate visit. The sisters have held season tickets with the Wanderers for over 50 years and were surprised with the special visit of the Head Coach. Alongside a talk all things football and Bolton Wanderers, both were given an activity pack containing puzzles, sudoku and word searches. They also both received a signed copy of the Newport County programme.

A recent study from the Office National Statistics (ONS) showed that 2.6 million adults reported that they felt lonely ”often” or ”always” whilst 7.4 million adults reported their well-being had been affected as a result of them feeling lonely in the past seven days. The ‘Tackling Loneliness Together’ project is aimed at connecting more older people at risk of loneliness. The EFL Trust are proud to be receiving £810,000 from the Department of Digital Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) to support 32 EFL Club Community Organisations through the project in deprived locations.  The grants will allow expanded activities across the country under the campaign ‘Let’s Tackle Loneliness Together’, include befriending phone calls, online social groups, a pen-pal scheme, social action from young people taking part in NCS and socially distanced ‘garden gate’ conversations to emerge across EFL communities and reach the people who need this vital support right when they need it the most.

For more information on how to get involved with ‘Do one thing’ on World Mental Health Day please visit here. For more information on the EFL and Mind’s charity partnership visit here.

Mural designed by young people to feature around the City of Bradford

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Bradford train station has been lit up with a brand new mural designed by teens on Bradford City Community Foundation’s ‘Keep Doing Good’ programme.

A group of 19 teenagers have taken part in ‘Keep Doing Good’ which is part of the National Citizen Service’s (NCS) ‘One Million Hours of Doing Good’, a wider pledge to enable teens to take an active role in helping the country recover from the ongoing impacts of COVID-19.

With Bradford having the fastest growing youth population outside of London, the group wanted to do some good that would highlight them in a positive way. They wanted to leave behind a legacy for years to come and they have done just that with this project.

They decided on creating a mural which would showcase the diversity of culture within Bradford whilst celebrating the work of the key workers who have supported the community tirelessly throughout the pandemic.

The group split into smaller teams, each working together on a design. The teams then had to face a ‘Dragons Den’ style pitch to a panel made up of representatives from Northern Rail, Bradford Council and Network Rail. The panel were blown away by the quality of the mural designs, so much so they refused to choose a winner. Instead they set the teams a new challenge of merging the murals together.

The teams then worked hard to merge the designs and decided to call the mural ‘We are Bradford’. Bradford City Community Foundation have been working in partnership with Northern rail since 2016 and so they have agreed to display this mural in Bradford train station to give a more positive feel to the station.

A young person from the team said:

“It’s really nice to see the work we did on week 1 come together… I can’t believe our design is going to be all over Bradford in different stations.”

Lizzie Saunders, NCS manager at Bradford City Foundation said:

“I am so proud of the work the young people have completed over two short weeks.

COVID-19 has brought so much uncertainty and disruption to the community, but the young people allowed this to motivate and inspire them to take part in real change in their community, and have truly demonstrated that they are an asset that should be celebrated in the district. I really hope the mural brings a smile to thousands of individuals who will see it every day, and encourage them to be proud of the diverse and wonderful community of Bradford”.

This was echoed by Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Healthy People and Places Portfolio Holder, who said:

“This brilliant work by local young people is very positive response to these incredibly challenging times. I applaud their energy, enthusiasm and creativity in creating this fantastic artwork which will no doubt lift people’s spirits.”

This Summer on NCS’ ‘Keep Doing Good’, young people from Yorkshire and The Humber have contributed nearly 20,000 volunteering hours to help tackle the challenges communities have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. To find out more about NCS ‘Keep Doing Good’ visit wearencs.com.

Huddersfield Town Foundation donates more than £13,500 to local homelessness charities

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The Huddersfield Town Foundation is delighted to announce the distribution of over £13,600 to eight Kirklees community groups!

To date the Foundation has raised £21,929.68 from March 2020’s Big Sleep Out (BSO) event, with donations still being received in person and via the post.

The remaining £8,279.89 is set to be donated to other organisations once they are able to resume operations later in the year.

Returning for the its third instalment on Friday 6 March 2020, the BSO saw more than 130 Huddersfield Town supporters brave the cold to spend the night at the John Smith’s Stadium.

Participants were encouraged to fundraise as much as possible in the build-up before bedding down in the Chadwick Lawrence Stand on the night.

Following the event, the Town Foundation invited applications from Kirklees charities who work with people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, as well as groups who support people with financial issues or are of ill health.

After assessment from its Board of Trustees, the Foundation has now allocated money to the following groups:

One Big Family are a homeless charity working predominantly in Huddersfield, whose volunteers will be found out on the streets at night offering vital supplies and support.

Through the BSO fund, the Town Foundation has purchased and donated 100 meal vouchers at £3.50 each to be used at Huddersfield Mission’s Evening Café.

£2,160 has been given to Basement Recovery Project, who deliver bespoke recovery advice to people struggling with drug and/or alcohol addictions. The money will be used to purchase furniture for their new supported accommodation unit.

Another beneficiary of the BSO fund will be the Hirsche Foundation, who stress that the homeless aren’t just people sleeping rough – it also includes people sofa surfing, fleeing domestic abuse or living in unreasonable conditions.

They have been awarded £2,500 to continue work on the Bus Shelter Project, which will turn a disused bus into a safe place for people in need to stay.

Dewsbury Community Outreach have also been successful in their application for funding and have been awarded a total of £1,500.

The Charity, whose volunteers are based at the refuge building next to Elim Church in Dewsbury, will use the money to purchase food for use in their community kitchen.

Another deserving recipient of funding are the Destitute Asylum Seekers Huddersfield (DASH), who support Refugees and Asylum Seekers in areas such as Housing, Health, Education and Finance.

Their £1,430 grant will be used to purchase mobile phone top up cards, enabling service users to stay in touch with their support coordinators.

In addition, Platform 1, a men’s health and crisis charity based in the centre of Huddersfield, have been awarded £2,000.

They will use the grant to facilitate extra pastoral care for their clients, including those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

The final two recipients from this initial round of donations will be two organisations who have worked in partnership with the Town Foundation throughout the 2019/20 season – Batley Food Bank and the Welcome Centre Huddersfield.

Batley Food Bank have been awarded £1,710 to continue the assembly of emergency packs for people who have been referred to their service.

The Welcome Centre will use their sum of £2,000 for their furniture project, which looks to source items of furniture for people in need.

As well as those eight initial donations, the Town Foundation will provide significant funds to The Huddersfield Mission and Batley Care & Drop In once they are able to restart their operations following COVID-19.

On the confirmation of the initial beneficiaries, Town Foundation Fundraising Executive Lisa Bottomley said:

“We are delighted to be able to announce the first round of beneficiaries from this year’s Big Sleep Out.

The event is always one of the biggest on our calendar with so much planning and thought put into it, so to see so many people turn up and such a substantial amount of money raised was a wonderful feeling.”

Foundation CEO Siobhan Atkinson added:

“It’s great to once again support a range of homelessness focused organisations across Kirklees. This year we have been able to support more projects than ever before, and we are proud to play a small part in helping them grow.

The Town Foundation remains committed to tackling the issue head on and with many charities being unable to fundraise this year, we are aiming for an even bigger and better BSO 4 in March 2021!”

After three successful years, the Town Foundation intends to hold Big Sleep Out 4 in March 2021 at the John Smith’s Stadium. Keep an eye on htafcfoundation.com for more information in due course!

I Wanted to Give Myself a Better Chance of Living Longer and Being Fit and Healthy

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“It’s not easy to make change at my age,” says James Priestley, “However, I wanted to give myself a better chance of living longer and being fit and healthy and that’s were FIT FANS comes in.”

James joined FIT Blackpool at Blackpool FC Community Trust.  The 12-week health programme, which funded by Sport England through the National Lottery is run at over 30 EFL clubs, provides those aged 35-65 with an opportunity to make a life-style changes, to help lose weight, get fitter and lead a more active life.

At first James had doubts about joining thinking he might be judged or he the exercise would be too hard, but he explains how FIT Fans is different,

“The camaradiere is brilliant it really helps you get through. Everyone is treated as an individual with individual goals. There’s no judgement and you go at your own pace, starting off slowing and increasing as the weeks go by. It’s 12 weeks to change your life. Each week you cover something different and make a small change in your life, eating better, exercising more. In 12 weeks these small changes have turned into a one big difference”

The changes James made to his lifestyle have certainly made a big difference to his own life as he explains, “There is no doubt that I feel so much better within myself, let alone looking better. I no longer have sleep apnoea and I am able to have a good night’s sleep. My blood pressure has reduced and is now considered to be in the normal range. I feel so much more active and no longer crave for the snacks which had become part and parcel of everyday life. Taking exercise has become so much easier and I no longer get out of breath so easily. I have dropped 6 inches from my waist size as well as a noticeable reduction in body shape/size’. 

 FIT FANS has helped thousands of people, not just football fans, to achieve long-term improvements in weight loss, physical activity, diet and general well-being.

The main aims of the programme are to:

  • Improving eating habits
  • Cut down on alcohol
  • Increasing your activity levels – one step at a time!
  • Reducing weight and waistline measurement

Click here for more information and find a FIT FANS near you

 

EFL Trust FIT FANS Wins Leaders in Sport Award

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The EFL Trust’s FIT FANS programme, which has helped over 1,000 fans to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle, has won a prestigious national award.

The 12-week healthy lifestyle programme, which is run by over 30 EFL clubs, has been awarded the Leaders in Sports Community Award. The awards showcase the most innovative organisations and people driving the sports industry forward.

FIT FANS is a lifestyle behaviour change programme for overweight and obese football supporters which is tackling the growing national issue of obesity. By 2022 it estimated that 40% of British people will be overweight or obese. The programme uses the unique pull of football clubs to reach fans, to bring people together to improve lifestyle behaviours and reduce weight, waistline and blood pressure.

FIT FANS was originally developed in Scotland by Glasgow University and SPFL Trust as Football Fans in Training.  The programme attracts adults aged 35-65 and is delivered by coaching staff at their local football club charity. It is known locally as FIT BORO, FIT PILGRIMS, FIT RAMS and FIT OWLS . to appeal to fans using the club nickname. It uses tried-and-tested behaviour change techniques, peer support and creates social bonds that last.

Funded by £2.25m from the National Lottery, FIT FANS is initially supporting people in 30 localities with the highest rates of adult obesity and type 2 diabetes and aims to:

  • Improve eating habits
  • Help people achieve at least 45 minutes of moderate intensity activity most days
  • Include regular self-monitoring of weight and pedometer step counts, creating behaviour change for the future.

January 2020 saw the nationwide roll-out of the programme in England. In the first cohort of 1,000 starters 70% completed the programme. Of the participants who were able to provide end measurements in lockdown (these would normally be taken at the Club) 93% had lost weight and 94% had reduced their waist measurement. On average the first cohort lost an impressive 7.2kg and reduced their waist line by 8.9cm.

The first cohort of FIT FANS were at risk of having their 12-week programme reduced due to COVID-19. However, FIT FANS Clubs adapted quickly, continuing to work with the teams remotely.  With obesity being a major risk factor for COVID-19 the programme is set to play an important role in the future health of many more fans across the country.

 

 

Canaries Support Community with £200K Donation From Players and Directors

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2020 has been challenging, but Norwich City’s Community Sports Foundation has continued its sterling work for the people of Norfolk

During the lockdown, the Foundation launched the Canaries Covid-19 Community Support Project thanks to a donation of over £200k from the first team squad and directors. The project has two phases, response and recovery: an initial response to help vulnerable members of the community during lockdown, and a longer-term plan to help the community to recover from the impact of lockdown such as inactivity, social isolation, and unemployment.

Members of the first team, Club staff, and Foundation staff made several thousand wellbeing calls to potentially vulnerable season ticket holders, and deliveries of food and activity packages were made to a range of charities and local causes. Throughout lockdown, the Foundation team adapted quickly to continue their community support remotely, through the development of an app, live and recorded online sessions, and other support for usual and new participants.

While balancing the challenges that everyone is facing in 2020, the Foundation is nearing completion of the construction of its community hub The Nest. The first phase of the project, which saw the rejuvenation of a disused sports facility on the outskirts of Norwich, was completed in late 2018 and included the renovation of the existing clubhouse and relaying of seven grass football pitches.

A second phase includes a full-size floodlit 3G pitch, which has been open over the summer of 2020, and a brand-new building housing two multi-use areas, an IT suite, and accessible changing facilities to help the Foundation increase its community reach by over 12,000 people a year.

The Build the Nest fundraising campaign is nearing its conclusion thanks to an injection of £500,000 from Norwich City FC, match-funding the efforts of supporters and fundraisers to raise the final £1million of the £4.6million total cost. The Foundation’s team are working to reach the final target in time for the completion of construction in the coming months.

Recently, Norwich City season ticket holders and members showed their pride in the Club’s community presence by donating over £175,000 of potential rebates in order to help the Foundation reduce its lost fundraising revenue in 2020 from cancelled events.

A Weight Off Lee’s Mind

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Minimum exercise, daily takeaways and a craving for sugary drinks – three of the habits Sunderland Fan Lee Stewart had to kick to improve both his mental and physical well-being.

After losing his parents Lee spiralled into a depression that affected his confidence and self-motivation; earlier this year, a very anxious and despondent Lee made the brave step to join the Foundation of Light’s FIT BLACK CATS programme.

Inspired by the idea of improving his health in a positive environment, he signed up to the free health programme, based in and around the Stadium of Light. The 12-week programme, which is run at over 30 EFL clubs, provides those aged 35-65 with an opportunity to make a life-style changes, to help lose weight, get fitter and lead a more active life.

Struggling to deal with the death of his parents, Lee knew he needed to make changes for the good of his health Lee engaged with the group straight away and over the weeks went from doing no exercise at all to gradually enjoying 5-mile runs every other day!

He ditched the daily fast-food and learnt how to manage his cravings for his favourite Dr Pepper drink and began changing his eating habits; all of this progress led to him achieving the biggest weight-loss of over 6kg – a feat he never thought he’d reach.

“I honestly don’t know where I’d be without the programme. It’s made me have a much more positive outlook and feel more in control of my life’” Lee explained.

“Training and learning inside of the Stadium of Light was a fantastic experience and so inspiring.

“I hadn’t done any running in almost 12 years – now I’ve bought a FitBit and I’m doing 3-4 5-mile runs a week!”

FIT FANS has helped thousands of people, not just football fans, to achieve long-term improvements in weight loss, physical activity, diet and general well-being.

The main aims of the programme are to:

  • Improve your eating habits
  • Cut down on alcohol
  • Increase your activity levels – one step at a time!
  • Reduce your weight and waistline
  • Support each other to stay on track

Click here for more information and find a FIT FANS near you

 

Lisa’s Story: “It helped me gain confidence in myself and stop feeling ashamed all the time.”

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 “Over the past 3 years I have piled on the weight especially when I changed my job. I lost all self confidence in myself.” says Lisa Allen.

However things changed for Lisa when she joined FIT BAGGIES, West Bromwich Albion’s Healthy lifestyle programme.  Lisa adds,

“I was ashamed at how big I was and knew I really needed to do something about it. However, I surprised myself by emailing Lyndsey at West Bromwich Albion Community Trust and asking about the FIT programme and then joining up. What encouraged me to join was the fact that it was all around my age group.”

The 12-week programme, which funded by Sport England through the National Lottery is run at over 30 EFL clubs, provides those aged 35-65 with an opportunity to make a life-style changes, to help lose weight, get fitter and lead a more active life.

Having lost an impressive 8.8kg on the programme Lisa is now living a much healthier lifestyle, she continues,

“The programme has given me the will power to actually do something about my weight. After the first week of doing some exercise at the programme I got the bug and started do some exercise at home for 3-4  times a week. I am now exercising 7 days a week and am now starting to get more movement in my joints as well.”

“I got to meet a great set of people on the programme. Every session we attended was great fun and not once did I feel uncomfortable.  It has helped me gain confidence in myself with going out and stop feeling ashamed all the time. “

Click here for more information and find a FIT FANS near you