£1,000 Grants Available To Junior Football Clubs in Wigan thanks to the Wigan Athletic Supporters Project

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Thanks to the fundraising efforts of the official Wigan Athletic Supporters Club and their partnership with Wigan Athletic Community Trust, junior grassroots football clubs in Wigan will benefit from a £1,000 grant.

The grants are available to boys and girls grassroots football Clubs in Wigan, with the successful Clubs also being offered the opportunity to enjoy a matchday experience at the DW Stadium and a future visit to one of their training sessions by a Wigan Athletic first team player (subject to availability and COVID-19 mitigation measures).

The funds that will be used are in part those that were returned to the official Wigan Athletic Supporters Club from the ‘Save Wigan Athletic’ Crowdfunder in 2020. Wigan Council are also supporting the project.

Supporters who donated to the Crowdfunder were given the opportunity to decide where their funds would be channelled towards following the successful takeover of the Club by Phoenix 2021 Limited in March 2021.

Supporters chose to:

  • Support older people in Wigan through a project targeted at reducing social isolation
  • Provide small grants to local grassroots football clubs in Wigan
  • Work with young people in Wigan, aged 14-19

Caroline Molyneux, chair of the official Wigan Athletic Supporters Club, said:

“We are delighted to see Wigan Athletic continue to thrive under the ownership of Phoenix 2021 Limited.

“The fact that the fundraising efforts of Latics supporters will now benefit many people in our town – including the next generation of young footballers in Wigan – is really pleasing.

“Working together with Wigan Athletic and Wigan Athletic Community Trust, we always wanted to ensure that the donations would make a real difference in OUR community – all in the name of OUR football club.”

To apply, Clubs should complete the below application form and return to [email protected] before the initial deadline of 5pm on Monday 18 October.

Further information on the Supporters Project will be announced later this month.

Please note: Grants are open only to FA affiliated football clubs.

EFL WINS LEADERS SPORTS AWARD FOR TACKLING LONELINESS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

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The English Football League (EFL) has won the Community Award at the 2021 Leaders Sports Awards for its ‘Tackling Loneliness Together’ project.

The awards took place at Twickenham Stadium this evening (Thursday 7th October) during Leaders Week London. The Community Award, in partnership with Facebook, seeks out and celebrates an organisation that is using sport to bring a community together.

‘Tackling Loneliness Together’ was launched through the EFL’s charitable arm, the EFL Trust, and enabled EFL clubs to play an important and unique role in supporting their local communities when issues associated with loneliness were put into sharp focus at the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From zoom cookery lessons for widowed men in Derby to Christmas Day phone calls in Wigan and Christmas dinner deliveries in Stoke, the project offered support to over 33,000 people – more than 75% of which were over 65 years old – and over 120,000 phone calls were made to those at risk of becoming isolated.

With financial support from DCMS to initially drive the activities and additional funding and support from local partners, EFL Clubs created a range of locally delivered support services including face-to-face visits, welfare and befriending telephone calls, provision of information by post and virtual sessions via web platforms.

Data collected from a survey of Tackling Loneliness Together participants revealed that people felt less anxious, less lonely and happier about life as a result of the programme:

  • Average life satisfaction score increased from 6.47 to 6.84
  • Feelings of being worthwhile increased from 6.89 to 7.20.
  • Feelings of happiness increased from 6.50 to 6.87
  • Feelings of anxiety decreased from 3.82 to 3.61.

Mike Evans, Chief Executive of the EFL Trust, said: “We are delighted to have won the Community Award at the Leaders Sports Awards for our ‘Tackling Loneliness Together’ project. Football starts conversations, helping people to connect, and we are immensely proud of how our clubs responded to the pandemic by putting their communities first and providing vital support for those who were at risk of becoming lonely and suffering the effects of deteriorating mental health.”

Other activities that formed part of the ‘Tackling Loneliness Together’ project included:

  • Afternoon tea parcels delivered to doorsteps in Stevenage
  • Online walking tours in Blackpool
  • Online book clubs in Middlesbrough
  • Happy birthday calls from West Bromwich Albion
  • Tablets pre-loaded with software enabling supporters to watch EFL fixtures in Northampton
  • Online seated exercise sessions in Crawley

Click here find out more about the ‘Tackling Loneliness Project.

Maya Rajab – Born in Syria, raised in England, made by NCS

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Maya has had a unique start to her life. Born in Syria, Maya has had to overcome adversity from a young age but believes her time on NCS has given her new confidence. Now, at only 17 years of age, Maya will be standing in front of 100 people at the EFL Trust National Conference, at St George’s Park next week.

Convinced by her sister, an NCS Graduate, Maya started her journey on NCS in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic by signing up to do the ‘Keep Doing Good programme’ with Huddersfield Giants Community Trust.

Maya got stuck in from the get-go as her team decided to support the elderly and boosting the camaraderie within the care homes, during those dark, unpredictable times. Maya and her team put on a wide variety of activities for residents, such as performing songs online playing instruments, as well as organising the occasional game of bingo and a music quiz, presenting them through Zoom.

Reflecting back, Maya said:

“During this time there were several COVID restrictions that fuelled feelings of loneliness. Our task was just to let them know they weren’t alone, and to spend time with them.”

Maya enjoyed her time on ‘Keep Doing Good’ so much, that she couldn’t wait to get involved in NCS a year later in the summer just gone. This time, her team set on supporting the other end of the age range, renovating the garden of the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice.

Maya spoke fondly about her experiences at the Children’s Hospice:

“Seeing the smiles on the children’s faces when they saw their new and improved garden made me feel as though I had really made a positive impact and to be able to share this experience with my friends was just as special.”

After an incredibly successful time at Huddersfield Giants Community Trust, Maya was nominated to join the EFL Trust’s Changemaker Group.

“I have improved many of my personal skills such as my confidence when putting forward my ideas and my public speaking, where I presented a workshop to other NCS graduates with the help of my fellow board members.”

Maya states that the reasoning behind her increased confidence, has been due to her time on NCS, which has helped her control her nerves and build her speaking skills, in preparation for the EFL Trust National Conference. Feeling more relaxed about the idea of public speaking, Maya is looking forward to displaying her increased confidence at St George’s Park.

“The NCS has helped me overcome my nerves, so now whenever I get the chance to speak in front of a crowd, I’ll grab it with both hands.”

Being involved in the EFL Trust’s Changemaker Group has expanded her knowledge, widening her expertise on topics related to Parliament, volunteering opportunities and awareness of local issues such as the environment. Maya is now utilising her expertise as a Changemaker to make a difference in the community and improve young people’s lives the same way Maya has also improved.

Maya reflects on her incredible experiences at NCS:

“My time on NCS has done multiple things for me. It has widened my knowledge on topics such as the electoral register through Youth Voice events with UK Parliament. It has also allowed me to showcase skills such as communication, flexibility, resilience, and teamwork as well as improving them. I have also received a great amount of support from NCS, signposting me to other opportunities, I’m incredibly grateful for all they’ve done.”

Maya is overjoyed with hosting at the upcoming EFL Trust National Conference and plans to make the most of the opportunity. Equipped with new skills and newfound confidence, the world is now her oyster. Maya will be looking to improve other young people’s lives for the foreseeable future, as the mentee has become the mentor.

Young people to be given a voice through the launch of the Peer Action Collective Project

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The EFL Trust join the Youth Endowment Fund, #iwill Fund and Co-op to launch the Peer Action Collective (PAC): giving 10–25-year-olds a voice and the chance to make their communities safer, fairer places. Read more

Blackpool FC SCHOOL OPENING

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After receiving official confirmation from the Department for Education, Blackpool FC Community Trust is proud to announce the opening of their very own Independent School. Read more

ZOOM SESSIONS A BIG WIN FOR SUNDERLAND FAN DAVE

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Foundation of Light’s ‘Wear Together’ programme has been a lifeline for Sunderland supporter Dave Davison.

During a tumultuous 18 months that saw communities cut-off from each other, the football club’s official charity focused its attention on reconnecting those who found themselves socially isolated.

Seventy-nine year-old Dave from Southwick was a regular at our walking football sessions and by his own admission just loved to ‘kick a ball about and have some craic with the lads’.

However, lockdown restrictions meant the weekly sessions could no longer take place and saw Dave stuck at home, missing the chance to catch up with the friends he’d made at the Beacon of Light.

Through a range of Zoom activities and telephone befriending calls, the team at the Foundation of Light reached out to older members of the community, in an effort to combat loneliness.

“It was a nice opportunity to catch up,” Dave said about the weekly Zoom calls. “I enjoyed the ones on a Friday particularly, as that was everyone chatting about the matches and all football related; I like to get my two penneth in!”

The Session calls were part of the EFL Trust’s Extra Time Hubs Programme. Funded with the support of Sport England’s Active Ageing fund from the National Lottery, Hubs have initially been created at 11 CCOs across the country. The Hubs are communities of like-minded people.  They include weekly gatherings, often at the football stadium, but also a varied combination of face to face and online groups and activities. 

Find out more about the Hubs here.