2022 EFL Community Project of the Season winners announced

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Three EFL Clubs have been commended for their delivery of outstanding community projects by being recognised with the ‘Community Project of the Season’ award.

Announced as part of the EFL’s Week of Action, three divisional winners have been awarded for some of the most successful and impactful community projects within the EFL over the last year.

2022 Community Projects of the Season:

Championship – Preston North End

The Club won judges over with its innovative project supporting members of its local community marking Ramadan and Eid. The Club has also implemented a multi-faith prayer room for its supporters of all faiths, enabling fans to pray before and after games should they need to.

League One – Burton Albion

Burton Albion has been acknowledged for its success in supporting the NHS at the Burton Albion Vaccination Centre during the pandemic where more than 200,000 vaccinations have been carried out – a major undertaking for the Club.

League Two – Swindon Town

Judges were blown away by Swindon Town’s ‘Project Me’ mentoring initiative launched in response to the pandemic to support children with mild-to-moderate mental health concerns.

The winners will receive their awards at a special event hosted at the House of Commons on 19 April alongside project participants, staff and volunteers from each Club Community Organisation considered instrumental in delivering this commendable work.

The overall winner for each category will be announced live at the EFL Awards, 24 April 2022.

All 72 EFL Clubs, through their CCO’s deliver a wide range of projects 365 day per year focusing on improving health and wellbeing, raising aspirations, realising potential and building stronger, more cohesive communities. Using the appeal of football, EFL Clubs collectively invest over £59m in their communities annually.

Established in 2006, the EFL Awards is an annual gala event which celebrates excellence both on and off the pitch.

EFL reveal Community Club of the Season winners

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Announced as part of the EFL’s first ever Week of Action, six regional winners have been named Your Move Community Club of the Season for the outstanding work they have delivered off the pitch. The winning Clubs are:

  • Middlesbrough – North East & Yorkshire
  • Blackpool – North West
  • Derby County – Midlands
  • Milton Keynes Dons – South East & East
  • AFC Wimbledon – London
  • Plymouth Argyle – South West & Wales

The winners will receive their awards at a special event hosted at the House of Commons on 19 April alongside project participants, staff and volunteers from each Club Community Organisation (CCO).

The overall winner for each category will be announced live at the EFL Awards, 24 April 2022.

Each of the Clubs have made a significant difference to the lives of people living in their local areas, through projects designed to tackle societal issues such as loneliness, food poverty and education, amongst others.

2022 Your Move Community Clubs of the Season

North East & Yorkshire – Middlesbrough

The Club has been acknowledged for its impressive range of projects which include an innovative and adaptable ‘Boro Bus’ enabling the Club to take its community programmes to people who may not normally access these services readily.  

North West – Blackpool

Blackpool impressed the judges with its ability to engage with its community in new ways, for example through the development of a new Independent School offering alternate full-time education for Year 10 and 11 students.

Midlands – Derby County

From its Community Food Hub used as a main donation point for the city’s food banks, to the development of a new cancer project specifically for residents from underrepresented groups, Derby County’s range of projects were viewed by the judges as ‘outstanding’.

South East and East – Milton Keynes Dons

The judging panel were particularly taken with Milton Keynes Dons’ delivery of inclusion projects, with the Club the being the leading provider of inclusion football programmes across the region.

London – AFC Wimbledon

AFC Wimbledon’s significant volunteering numbers and scale of impact in the community made it a clear winner in this category with 850 local people volunteering on its projects over the last year.

South West and Wales – Plymouth Argyle

Plymouth Argyle impressed the judges with their innovative Green Social Prescribing project, helping to improve the mental and physical wellbeing of those most adversely affected by the pandemic.

All 72 EFL Clubs, through their CCOs deliver a wide range of projects 365 day per year focusing on improving health and wellbeing, raising aspirations, realising potential and building stronger, more cohesive communities. Using the appeal of football, EFL Clubs collectively invest over £59m in their communities annually.

Established in 2006, the EFL Awards is an annual gala event which celebrates excellence both on and off the pitch.

Eesa provides inspiration to his local community through Birmingham City’s Community Trust education pathway

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Eesa Sawyers, like many young people, always dreamt of playing professional football for his home club. Birmingham City. His interest was first ignited at 15 years old when he attended football camps and took part in the club’s Kick’s programme. As he progressed through school, he witnessed his friends take education less seriously, but his involvement in Birmingham City and its Community Trust encouraged Eesa to consider an alternate option if his dream of playing professionally wasn’t realised.

When he left school, Eesa committed to full-time education with Birmingham City Community Trust where he completed a BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Sport whilst remaining passionate and dedicated to his playing career. After passing the course, he enrolled in the Degree programme with the University of South Wales and EFL Trust. The three-year course allowed him to gain an insight into all levels of sports coaching ranging from schools delivery to grassroots football as well as access to observing Elite Coaches within Birmingham City FC Academy. After completing the course and gaining his Foundation Degree in Community Football Coaching and Development, Eesa continued his involvement with the club and became a coach at the holiday clubs he had once attended as his younger self.

After successful completion of his 3-year coaching degree, Eesa was successful in his application to join the Trust full time as a Primary Stars & Schools Sports Coach.  Having been encouraged and inspired by his hometown club to ensure he had a pathway to follow should he not be in the minority of people who make it to the top level of sport, Eesa began to share his expertise and experiences in Primary schools and talk to schoolchildren about the importance of having a career goal but also having a back-up plan cemented by education.

Eesa’s journey has been one of continuous progression and fast forward three years and he is now delivering his first cohort of EFL Trust ‘FIT FANS’, aimed at helping BCFC fans to improve their lifestyles. He has also become a mentor to a member of the FIT FANS cohort who will run their own groups in the near future.

With such passion for the game and as an individual who has grown up in the local community just a stone’s throw from St. Andrews, Eesa’s journey acts as one of inspiration to the younger generations that he influences through his role as a Sports Coach.

 

 

EFL’s first ever ‘Week of Action’

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This week marks the start of the EFL’s first-ever ‘Week of Action’, beginning today.

Running from 4 to 8 April, Clubs will showcase activity with EFL players and managers joining participants across England and Wales.

Using the power of football, EFL Clubs and Club Community Organisations (CCOs) collectively invest over £59m in their communities every year, engaging with some of the most vulnerable members of society.

In 2021, EFL Clubs and CCOs were recognised at both the Leaders Sports Awards and Sports Business Awards for the important and unique role they played in supporting their local communities during the pandemic.

Rick Parry, Chair of the EFL, said:

“EFL Clubs are embedded in the towns and cities from which they take their name and this bond is strengthened by the life changing initiatives they run across England and Wales every single day. The EFL Week of Action is an opportunity for us to celebrate this invaluable work and demonstrate the remarkable difference clubs have on their communities away from the pitch.”

Liam Scully, Chair of the EFL Trust, said:

“Clubs’ work in their communities happens on a huge scale day in day out and directly aligns with priorities for the people in our communities both locally and on a national scale.

“The hours that are committed by our Club and Community Organisation teams and volunteers demonstrates an unwavering commitment to improving lives up and down the country and building stronger, healthier more active communities.”

Rhiannon Hatchard | “I like to use my experiences of having autism as a positive and let kids know that it’s okay and not a bad thing”

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Rhiannon Hatchard | “I like to use my experiences of having autism as a positive and let kids know that it’s okay and not a bad thing”

For 23-year-old Rhiannon Hatchard, a diagnosis of Asperger’s three years ago has given her the opportunity to speak positively about her experiences of the condition.

A Community Sports Coach with Wigan Athletic Community Trust, Rhiannon was speaking during Autism Acceptance Week (28th March – 3rd April) and explained how Asperger’s – which is a form of the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) – has given her a better understanding of the way she thinks.

She said: “I was diagnosed when I was 20 and we kind of knew my whole life because there were little things that did stick out and I’ve got family members that have the same condition.

“When I found out it was quite nice really because it made me able to understand myself more and be a lot kinder to myself and understand why I think differently and why I do certain things.

“It was nice because I don’t really see it as a disability because it’s called a disability, but I don’t like to see it that way.

“I like to see it as a way that it’s made me think more creatively and given me different perspectives on life.”

Whilst working for the club’s official charity, Rhiannon has been sharing her experiences of living with the condition with youngsters in her sessions and believes it can only have a positive effect.

She added: “I like to use it as a positive, so when I tell people I’ve got autism, they’re shocked because I don’t come across as if I do.

“There are a lot of stigmas these days about autism, especially on TV. It’s just presented one way, that [autistic people] don’t understand emotions but there are so many different aspects and perspectives on it, you can’t really pinpoint it.

“For me, the best part of it in the job is when the kids that have autism themselves find out that I’ve got autism – it shocks them but in a good way.

“You can see they want to talk to me about it and we can talk to each other about our own experiences, and I can help them understand that it’s okay, it’s not a bad thing and it won’t stop you from doing things in your life.

“I feel it’s important to be able to speak to the teachers and the parents as well and help them understand because sometimes it’s nice because by talking to them you can see it helping them gain a perspective on how it might be for those children as well.”

Rhiannon first joined the Community Trust in September 2021 through the Kickstart scheme, which has now provided her with an opportunity to pursue a career in sports coaching.

She added: “I came here with no qualifications and no sporting qualifications, and I’ve never known how to deliver a session, but I’ve always loved sports growing up and taking part in them.

“When I first started, I felt anxious and shy, but now I’ve made some really good work colleagues and made good relationships with people.

“Looking back, it’s had its challenges and sometimes I’ve been thrown into the deep end which does overwhelm me but at the same time it’s done me good and helped me learn how to deal with things in different ways.

“It’s helped me grow as a person, I’ve learnt how to deliver a session and support children and teachers, and everyone at the Trust has been really understanding and given me great support that I’ve not had in other jobs before.

“The job feels really rewarding, there’s a lot of rewarding factors and I just feel like my confidence has gained quite a lot because I started off as such a shy and quiet person.

“I’m doing more on the disability sessions and the disability side, which I’m really enjoying, it’s so rewarding hearing stories and how it affects their lives, how they manage it and how they’ve grown with it as well.

“It’s really interesting and I’m hoping to go in that direction. I’m working part time here now, so I’m just doing different sessions and seeing where it takes me to be honest.”

 

Sutton United and Rotherham United are successful off the pitch too.

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Ahead of the Papa John’s Trophy Final on Sunday which will see Sutton United United take on Rotherham United at Wembley,  we celebrate the impact of their Club Community Orgnisations are having in their community, and in particular on Aaron and Stuart.

Sutton United Youth and community Foundation 

International honours and Building Sutton United

Starting with only a handful of players in 2014, Sutton United’s Disability programme has grown to now having three thriving 11-aside teams competing in the FA’s competitions. In 2019, one of the teams reached the FA People’s Cup final at St George’s Park which was broadcasted live on BBC. Sutton were the eventual runners up, which was an experience that the team would never forget.

One member of the disability team, Aaron Lucas, has recently been selected for the England Cerebral Palsy team.  Aaron, featured in the recent fixtures against the USA and Scotland at St. George’s Park. The games, which are the England team’s first since the start of the Covid pandemic, are in preparation for this summer’s Cerebral Palsy World Cup in Spain which Aaron is working hard to be part of.

Sutton United’s Disabalilty programme is much more than success on the pitch however and the weekly training sessions help build friendship, develop confidence and therefore are transforming people’s lives.

Steve King is the head and founder of Sutton United’s Disability programme. His determination to increase the opportunities for people with disabilities to play football has benefited so many in the community. Steve King reflects on the impact of Sutton United’s Disability programme:

“The disability programme has given the players a real sense of purpose and belonging. Not only does it get them all in top physical shape, it helps build their confidence and social skills. It really is life-changing for the players and we’ve had reports from some of the parents who’ve said the improvement in their self-esteem and wellbeing has been remarkable.”

 

Rotherham United Community Sports Trust 

“I’ve done everything from dropping off shopping to painting fence posts!”

Stuart is the selfless volunteer that helps Rotherham United Community Sports Trust support their local community.

Rotherham United Community Sports Trust are a cornerstone of the local community who work and interact with a whole host of people to make a positive impact on the local region.

Stuart Wildridge is one of the Trust’s volunteers who has selflessly committed his own time to his community for many years. Stuart has become the Trust’s resident mini-bus driver, transporting a number of teams and students to venues across the region. A service which is key to the successful delivery of so many of the Trust’s brilliant community schemes.

Stuart’s desire to help out where possible has become even greater during the COVID-19 pandemic when he was heavily involved in delivering care packages and donated food to people in need around the community. In addition, alongside his own shopping, Stuart collected items for participants, of RUCST’s programmes, who are deemed vulnerable and therefore could not go out themselves.

Stuart said:

“I’ve done everything from dropping off shopping to painting fence posts!

I first got involved with the Trust through Mind, who told me about the Trust’s walking group. I went and joined that, then they found out that I could drive a minibus, so then I ended up driving the walking group! It snowballed from there really. I started driving some of the kids’ teams around – the Academy players, both boys and girls – among various other groups. I just do it to make folks happy and hopefully they like me for it”.

Jamie Noble, Head of Community at the Trust said:

“He is one of those people who has a real desire to help others and he certainly does that. He is an inspirational character and we could all learn something from his amazingly selfless nature. It has been an absolute pleasure to know Stuart for all of these years and even more so to work with him. He embodies everything good about our football club and he is a shining example for Rotherham United in our community.

Stuart concluded by citing the main reason for his continued commitment to the Community Sports Trust and his ongoing charity work is the satisfaction he gets from being able to provide help to those around him.

He commented:

“It always feels worthwhile to see the smiles on people’s faces, particularly at times like this when it is that bit harder for everyone.”