Archive for year: 2020

Young Bournemouth fan Adam Sevenoakes got a huge lift after a long period of shielding when his hero, Cherries winger Junior Stanislas, popped round for a game of FIFA.   Adam, who is also a player for AFC Bournemouth Warriors, the club’s powerchair team, had been shielding at home between March and the end of July.

Once shielding was over he welcomed Stanislas round for a long-awaited FIFA rematch. As Adam explains this isn’t the first time they have played and the pair’s rivalry goes back a couple of years:

“I was at Julia’s House (the local hospice) when the players came in around Christmas, and there was a game between me and Junior against another person and Ryan Fraser.”

Since then the pair have stayed in touch as Adam explains,

“I message him quite a lot on my dad’s Instagram, during lockdown I’d say well done if he had a good game, then he asked: ‘Can we have a rematch?’”

Adam didn’t think it was possible as they were on different platforms so they couldn’t play an online game. However, Stanislas was undeterred and made the offer to come over once Adam was out of shielding.  To which Adam says

“I answered that quite quickly!”

The promise of the FIFA battle provided something positive to look forward to during a long period of shielding for the 14-year-old, Adam says,

 “Shielding has been a bit difficult and a bit annoying, we’ve been doing it since March and at some points shielding was a real struggle but when Stanno said he was coming it was something to look forward to, ”

True to his word once shielding was over Stanislas, arranged to visit. Adam says “It was quite surreal really” although like most teenagers Adam, had a job to do before the visit. “We cleaned my bedroom first, that was mum’s job!”

With the bedroom tidy – which as you can see from the photo, is of course in the Cherries red and black, the stage was set for the rematch, and across three fixtures it turned into a nail-biting affair, as Adam explains

“In the first game we were both Bournemouth and Stanno won 4-0, I picked him in my team, and he picked himself too,” said Adam of his slow start.

“Then I won the second game 3-1, I was the Soccer Aid team and Stanno was an Argentinian team. In the last game it was Manchester United against Chelsea, it was 1-1 but luckily I won 3-2 on penalties. That meant I won two and he won one, so I won! He’s already suggested that we have another rematch soon, it’s a friendly rivalry we have now.”

Ever-positive Adam hopes to return to Vitality Stadium in the new season.

 “I hope we’re able to get back to the stadium soon, it’s my second home. It will be a bit odd, but the atmosphere won’t have changed I think.

As the new season kicks off this weekend, we’re delighted to welcome Watford to the EFL and we’ve been looking back at Watford Community Sports and Education Trust’s response to lockdown and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Should you look up community in the dictionary, you would find a statement that lacks depth – ‘a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common’. However, when you see community in action, rather than words on a page or screen, that’s when you really understand what it means.

To see this community in action you need look no further than the way the Watford FC family has reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fantastic efforts of staff from across the club alongside groups of magnificent volunteers and partner organisations, with the Hornets at Home and Vicarage Road Stadium Sanctuary initiatives – have been wonderful to witness.

Contrary to the definition, at Watford, community transcends ‘common personality traits’, in fact it is the polar opposite. This is a community made up of an array of members boasting diversity across age, gender, background, culture, mental health, physical health and yes, even across ‘particular characteristics’. This is at the heart of the work of Watford FC’s Community Sports and Education Trust. Even in these difficult, unprecedented times it continues to cater for a wide range of members of the community, just as it always has.

There has been support for local schools and pupils with a range of home learning resources across PSHE, English, Maths and physical activity, as well as a mental wellbeing course delivered online. Elsewhere youngsters have been kept engaged with footballing technical challenges, drills and tips, with tailor made strength and conditioning clips provided for players who are part of the disability hub.

Young people have been kept engaged with a series of online offerings including FIFA tournaments, forums, quizzes, bakery classes and skills practises. To keep the mind active as well, there have been online classroom sessions and employability mentoring.

The focus for adults has been health – both physical and mental – from home workouts and weight management support to programmes focussed on providing motivation and signposting to appropriate exercises via phone calls, texts, and emails. Weekly mental wellbeing catch-ups and quizzes have also been running via Zoom.

The Trust has also kept in touch with some of our older members of the community. On top of the regular wellbeing calls as part of the Hornets at Home initiative, there has been engagement with older members of both Cedars Youth & Community Centre and Meriden Community Centre. The specially designed publication of the Golden Times newspaper provided further sustenance for the mind.

Match all of this with the intergenerational work of encouraging children and young people to get in touch with the older generation with letters and hosted quizzes, there really is some inspirational work going on around this community and we’re delighted they are joining out network.

The NCS (National Citizen Service) programme is designed to give young people the independence and confidence they need for life after school. Kelly Day was delighted at the difference that the two weeks had on her son, Harry Day, who struggled with his confidence prior to taking part in NCS.

Harry, 19 joined the NCS ‘Keep Doing Good’ programme with MK Dons Sport & Education Trust. ‘Keep Doing Good’ 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 post COVID-19.

Due to having additional needs, Harry was very shy, reluctant to take part in group activities and talk in front of group as he was worried he would not be accepted.

Harry said:

“At the start I didn’t want to go on the programme as I find it difficult to meet and talk to new people. I was also worried they may treat me differently due to my learning disabilities. On my first day, I worked with another participant who was really kind by helping me with my writing and giving me time to process the task and express my thoughts as getting my words out can be difficult sometimes.

In his first week, Harry took part in a variety of workshops including CV writing, interview skills and even got involved in a public speaking session. These workshops gave Harry the confidence to communicate more freely and express his views. These new skills were important as he put himself forward as the lead role for a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style pitch about their social action project which was to show their appreciation for key workers.

This was a virtual pitch to the ‘Dragons’ which included MK Dons Sports & Education Trust CEO, MK Dons Head of IT and MK Dons Head of HR. As lead, Harry created his own script and was an important part of developing the PowerPoint presentation. The pitch concluded with a number of difficult questions asked by the ‘Dragons’ which Harry was always first to answer, giving clear and precise responses about his teams project.

This was to the delight of Harrys Mum, Kelly Day, who said:

“Harry’s confidence increased and anxiety decreased…he loved every minute. Since taking part Harry has confidently told many people about the project and his time on ‘Keep Doing Good’. He has shown everyone the artwork he has created and has an increased self-worth thanks to this.”

As part of his team’s social action projects, Harry played a key role in an art and coffee morning which the group held to raise money for the NHS and to say thank you for the hard work and dedication shown throughout the pandemic. Following his new found confidence, Harry decided he wanted to be at the door to welcome the guests to the coffee morning.

Harry also volunteered with SOFEA, a local charity that supports vulnerable people with food and education. Whilst volunteering with them, Harry helped create food boxes that will be sent to vulnerable people self-isolating.  Harry enjoyed this so much he has spoken to the Manager of SOFEA and asked to continue volunteering with them in his spare time.

Reflecting on his time on NCS ‘Keep Doing Good’, Harry said:

“I now feel more positive to start college as I am now more confident. I have learnt how to express myself clearly and ask for help without being worried of being judged”

To find out more about ‘Keep Doing Good’ visit https://wearencs.com/keep-doing-good

“One call can change a life.” Having heard the uncomfortable statistics about loneliness in their community, a group of young people made it their mission to help connect with elderly people. Over 359 calls and 2,100 minutes later, their new pen pal scheme was a huge success.

The group of young people, aged 16-17, have recently completed the ‘Keep Doing Good’ programme with Shrewsbury Town in the Community (STITC). The programme 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 post COVID-19.

Statistics from Age UK suggest that 17 percent of older people in the UK are in contact with family, friends or neighbours less than once a week, and 11 percent in contact less than once a month.), Shrewsbury Town are part of 32 EFL Club Community Organisations who are tackling loneliness among older people, thanks to a grant of £810,000 from the Department of Digital Culture Media and Sport (DCMS). Loneliness has been highlighted as a particular problem around Shrewsbury with Age UK for Shropshire estimating that 10,000 older people in the county are feeling “deeply lonely.” When the young people heard about the shocking loneliness statistic, they wanted to do something to help.

As part of the two week programme the young people also successfully organised and launched a new Pen Pal scheme, aiming to connect older adults in their community by have a chat, checking on their wellbeing and offering a helping hand.

 “Being at home throughout lockdown has been hard but I can’t imagine what it’s been like for those who are alone! I’ve really enjoyed being part of a team, tackling loneliness and making a difference” said Jenson, 16, who has been delighted to make a difference to people lives.

To support the group’s new pen pal scheme, Tesco Mobile donated 20 phones with credit so that they could start contacting elderly people, and eventually they could be passed onto those receiving the callsso they can use them to stay connected.  Within five days, the pen pal scheme had 20 registered and the young people sent postcards, stamps, newsletters and free café vouchers to get them started.

Before making the calls, the young people received training from STITC’s Health Activator to ensure they were able to connect with individuals over the phone and gain the confidence to engage in conversations.

Jensen continued,

“It’s been really good to get out and do something! I’ve spoken to over 40 people and they’ve all welcomed my calls, with some I was on the phone for over 20 minutes!

I’ve also improved my confidence in talking to someone over the phone, while getting those in need of support back in to the community, I’m so pleased I’ve had the opportunity to volunteer and make a difference”

Anna, the NCS Coordinator at STITC is ecstatic at the achievement of the young people. She said:

“It’s absolutely amazing to see our young people dedicating their time to do something so amazing for those who are facing being alone day in and day out.

The calls our young people are making are the life line that some of these people need. One of the ladies that we phoned was so thankful as she hadn’t spoken to someone for over 2 weeks and expressed how these calls are reassuring that someone is thinking about them during these times of uncertainty”

In total, 756 collective hours have been volunteered by the Shrewsbury NCS participants to help tackle isolation and loneliness in their local area and up-skill themselves with workshops such as CV writing, interview skills and public speaking.

Teenagers taking part National Citizen Service (NCS) ‘Keep Doing Good’ with Bristol City Robins Foundation are implementing their very own social action project to benefit people of all ages in the community. Read more