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.”

 

From No GCSE to Top Grades: How Bristol City Helped Millie.

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Mille joined the Bristol City’s Robins Education programme in 2018, shy, lacking confidence, and with no self-belief after not passing any of her GCSE exams. She found herself unsure of the direction in which she wanted her life to go in. An advertisement for the Robins Foundation Education programme appeared whilst she was trawling social media one night. Despite being nervous, Millie pulled through her uncertainty to attend a taster session to find out more about what the course entailed.

She immediately built a rapport with the coaches and other girls just like her who would be on the same course, consequently Millie enjoyed her time and would soon find herself starting the course. It didn’t take her long to start to emerge from the shell she had burrowed herself into and built a strong relationship with her Sports Lecturer Chloe Rogers. Part of the course required students to complete a certain number of volunteer hours within the academic year. This took her out of her comfort zone and gave her a sense of responsibility she had not had before.

Millie volunteered through various avenues at Bristol City from overseeing the family zone on match days to supporting coaches at holiday camps. As well as this, she also helped out at sessions the Foundation run including Wildcats, Foster Care Sessions and Pan Disability Sessions.

From volunteering, Millie found her passion and quickly realised she wanted to pursue a career in coaching. Through her course and hours of volunteering Millie swiftly developed her coaching skills and secured a part-time coaching job whilst studying.

After 4 years with the Robins Foundation and Education programme, Millie has completed the BTEC Level 3 in National Extended Diploma in Sports and the Foundation Degree in Community Coaching and Development. Millie has now secured a full-time job as a Head Coach with Future Stars.

Sports Lecturer Chloe Rogers said: “Millie is a prime example of what empowering young females can do for females in the industry. Millie has been on a remarkable journey throughout her time at the foundation and this is all down to just a bit of belief in herself, from having minimal GCSE to graduating with the highest grade possible (D*D*D*) alongside 200 + Volunteering hours and a Level 1 Coaching qualification.

It has been a pleasure to witness her growth and see her impact on young females involved in other projects we run and the positive influence she has on young females getting involved in the sport. Millie was an asset to the classroom and her behavior, conversations, and assignments were always a joy to witness. I am very proud of everything Millie has achieved she is as unique as the course we run.”

Millie Rose said: “From starting The Robins Foundation as a young 16-year-old, lacking self-belief, confidence and purpose my four year journey has now come to end with me leaving the Robins Foundation with confidence, character and knowledge. I am going on to a job that I would never have imagined I would achieve – along with the most amazing memories/experience of my journey.”

Port Vale Foundation have been increasing the confidence of young people with disabilities on the NCS programme

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Through NCS with Port Vale Foundation, young people with disabilities at Kemball School have pushed through their comfort zones and acquired new skills and confidence. Young people on NCS were given the exciting opportunity to shadow staff at Port Vale FC, learning key workplace skills and developing their own job application acumen, enabling them to be work ready.

Port Vale Foundation began its collaborative work with Kemball School back in February this year, where NCS Skills Booster sessions were provided to assist the young people in a number of critical key areas such as; developing their own aspirations, gaining independence, acquiring employability and creating successful job application forms.

Throughout their experiences on NCS and with workshops such as, presentation and public speaking skills, the young people started to develop their skills and with it, simultaneously, their confidence.

A teacher from Kemball School had this to say about the programme:

“Pupils at Kemball School have had a difficult time over the last two years due to being unable to get out and about in the community. This being a skill which is vital for their preparation for adulthood skills. We were approached by Port Vale Foundation and were offered the NCS skills booster sessions.

From the first session, the pupils were engaged with the staff and were showing signs of wanting to get out of their comfort zones.”

In addition to the skills booster sessions, Port Vale FC hosted an NCS Takeover day, which was also referred to as ‘A Day in the Life of’. This was an exciting opportunity for the young people to shadow a key member of staff at the football club or foundation for the day, allowing them to gain essential work experience, as well as a peek into the working day lives of the Port Vale staff.

The young people were given exposure to a number of different roles at Port Vale, such as Hospitality, Groundskeeping, Marketing, Media and Operations. For the day, they were tasked on developing applications forms for the highlighted roles, and were to voice why they should be selected to be within that role for the day.

After gaining an insight into the roles they were shadowing, the young people were then thrilled to have been given exclusive access at the stadium, in which they also met Boomer the Port Vale FC mascot.

The young people made magnificent strides within such as short time frame, as they developed their skills and confidence through the sessions. They learnt first-hand on-the-job, the skills and attributes required to be working within the workplace. The young people made a huge impression on staff and have been invited back for more work experience at The Vale.

As a token of gratitude for all fantastic experiences and skills learnt, the young people wrote thank you letters to the staff members that they had shadowed for the day.

Jorgie Wallace, NCS Project Lead at Port Vale Foundation highlighted the day:

“On the day, the young people shone, they came out of their comfort zones and they were fantastic within their job roles. I am really excited that we have begun work with Kemball school and I am looking forward to what we can offer and the opportunities for the young people.

We are really excited for the NCS programme we are delivering to the year 11 cohort in May. Well done everyone!”

Port Vale Foundation have been working meticulously with delivering its NCS programme and impacting young people’s lives for the better within the community. As a part of their mission, Port Vale Foundation partner with 3 local SEND (Special Education Needs school) one of them being Kemball School, with the strong intention of allowing all young people to have equal opportunities and experiences.

To find out more about NCS, click here.

Niraj aims to be a role model for younger generations after graduating the degree programme with Preston North End Community and Education Trust

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Having completed the degree programme with the University of South Wales and Preston North End Community and Education Trust, Niraj aims to be a role model for the younger generations.

Niraj has been involved in the education courses with Preston for a total of five years having joined them after completing his GCSEs in 2016. Consequently, he always desired to pursue a career in sport and after attending the PNECET open evening, he was adamant to continue his journey in coaching.

He explained: “This was different in that I was in charge. I needed to drive what I wanted to learn. In school you have many subjects not all of them were for me, here I was given the structure, the tools and fantastic guidance from my tutors, especially Graeme Atkinson and Jodi Collum, they really treated us like adults but with clear leadership as to what was expected of us and the pitfalls of missing deadlines of submissions of assignments etc.”

Moreover, during his Level 3 BTEC, Niraj was an individual who wasn’t afraid to go out into schools to aid staff with their initiatives and this has benefitted him with his later endeavours. With a keen interest in futsal, he picked up his Level 2 Football Coaching qualification whilst delivering futsal at his local external club.

As a result of numerous real-world learning experiences, Niraj said: “My confidence has rocketed, and I feel I can manage many stakeholders from young children, young adults to parents. I understand the various facets that the trust is engaged in and more importantly how it contributes to the welfare of the overall community. I feel privileged to have the network of the community trust. I have matured and become professional and that is all due to the trust supporting me and guiding me.”

One of these experiences is supporting the delivery of Primary Stars in schools at a number of predominantly Asian speaking schools in Preston where he now sees himself “as an ambassador for PNECET”. With such an influence on the younger generation, he said: “I feel honoured that I am representing the trust and I know from the feedback I receive from the children at numerous schools that some of them including some very young ones who say they also want to be a coach and work for PNETCET. This gives me a real buzz and I know each day will be different with their own challenges that help shape and develop me further.”

Niraj is a valued member of the part-time staff at the Trust, but he now wants to continue his personal growth and development “secure a full-time role with PNECET and lead by example to other students.”

“This opportunity has opened new and exciting doors that were not open to me before.”

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Stuart Sorensen struggled with attaining any tangible work opportunities after graduating from university. However, after working with Burton Albion Community Trust and Burton Albion Academy on their Kickstart programme, Stuart was able to develop his expertise, confidence and acquire a full-time role.

Stuart, recently graduated from university with a Master’s Degree in Politics. Like many young people during the pandemic, Stuart found it difficult to secure a full-time role or gain experience.

However, when discovering the opportunity to work as a Kickstart Administration & Operations Assistant at Burton Albion Community Trust and Academy, this was the catalyst for Stuart’s career.

Stuart talks about his initial experience with Kickstart:

“I was shown this opportunity by my work coach which fused my interest in working in the community and my love for sports. Due to this, I thought it was an opportunity worth taking and have not regretted the decision since.”

“The kickstart role has allowed me to gain experience and confidence in a variety of ways. This has allowed me to take on extra responsibilities in my new role. I also believe that the confidence and the skills that I have acquired during my time with Burton, will allow me to move forward with any future roles that may come my way.”

“This opportunity has opened new and exciting doors that were not open to me before.”

Stuart was able to a develop his own skills during his role. He played an integral role in coordinating matchday games for players in the U9’s-U19’s programmes.

“We have seen the appreciation we get from the players, parents, coaches, and referees for the effort that we put into our games programme. The one game that I thought was enjoyable to work on was the FA Youth Cup first round game, where the U19s played against Sheffield Wednesday at the Pirelli Stadium. It was really satisfying to help assist on such a big occasion and I look forward to doing more with the Academy in the future.”     

Other activities which Stuart was involved in as a part of his role included; Communicating with internal and external stakeholders, preparing large events placed by the Club Academy, assisting with updating and developing a wide-range of policies, as well as gaining a general understanding of the day-to-day operations of the Academy.  

After generating an overwhelming impact, Stuart was able to secure his role full-time at Burton Albion Community Trust and Academy, in which Stuart pays his gratitude to Kickstart, as it allowed him to develop essential skills:

“The kickstart role has allowed me to gain experience and confidence in a variety of ways which has helped in taking on additional responsibilities. The confidence and the skills that I have acquired during my time with Burton, will allow me to move forward with any future roles that may come my way. This opportunity has opened new and exciting doors that were not open to me before.”

“The support during Kickstart has been excellent and being given the opportunity to help other kickstarter’s now in my new role is a pleasure. I have had a great opportunity to work with the club and I am grateful for the chance to continue to work with my colleagues in the Academy and Community Trust, and continue to help them on the journey that we are on together!“

Click here to find out more about Kickstart.

Decency: “FIT FANS has changed my life physically and mentally”

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Decency attended FIT FANS hosted by Luton Town Community Trust prior to the turn of the new year where she exceeded her own expectations.

Prior to the course, she had clear objectives to get fitter, gain knowledge around nutrition and food choices all whilst learning more about herself.

With the course designed to push participants out of their comfort zones, all while maintaining their own pace, the practical sessions become more intense through increasing cardiovascular exercise and introducing strength and conditioning work. Despite this, Decency praises the course as one that is “informative and organised.”

Most importantly, she looked forward to attending the course each week as it provided great social interaction too. Decency said

“The course has changed my life physically and mentally with a positive impact on both, I now feel so much fitter and have lost 11 kilograms since the start of the course. My blood pressure has also dropped which makes my GP happier!”

As an individual, Decency has always enjoyed being involved in fitness which was a major pulling factor for her whilst part of the same cohort as her older sister brought about a whole new level of competitiveness to those. She commented:

“Exercise has always been good for people’s mental health and the course has shown that.”

Average weight loss statistics for the FIT FANS programme are impressive and exceed those of many other programmes. On average women lose well over 3kg and men over 5.5kg by the end of the 12 weeks. We also have evidence that lifestyle change, and weight loss is sustained over the following 12 months. More than 90% of men and 85% of women lose weight during the programme with many losing a clinically significant amount.  Our data shows FIT FANS helps people to increase physical activity, reduce sedentary time, leading to weight loss, a significant reduction in reduction in blood pressure and improvement in self-reported mental wellbeing measures.

To find out more about FIT FANS click here.  

 

Chelsea and Liverpool unite off the pitch through NCS

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Whilst they might be rivals on the pitch for the Carabao Cup Final clash on Sunday, off the pitch, Chelsea FC Foundation and Liverpool FC Foundation have been sharing the same goal to support young people on the National Citizen Service (NCS) programme. Read more

Over 10,000 people were supported by Wigan Athletic Community Trust last year

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Wigan Athletic Community Trust has released its latest report, which demonstrates the positive impact on thousands of people in Wigan and the surrounding areas over the past 12 months.

The Community Trust works with Wigan Athletic to Improve Health, Enhance Life Chances and Create Stronger, Safer Communities.  The charity provides 26 different programmes across three priority areas of work: Schools, Community Development and Training and Skills which helped over 10,000 local people last year.

This year’s report looks at how the Community Trust has helped residents in Wigan throughout their life course – from enabling children to be more school ready, through to working with the adult population to enable them to live well and then age well. Highlights have included launching The Supporters Project alongside the Official Supporters Club to use funds raised by Latics fans to help older people at risk of social isolation, raise aspirations of young people and support grassroots junior football clubs through a number of small grants.

As the community continues to recover from COVID-19, the Trust has also ensured further opportunities for young people to get back into employment, whilst work with 30 nurseries across Wigan has improved the school readiness of 239 youngsters.

Phillip Williams, Chair of Trustees, said: “The past 12 months has once again provided us with challenging period, but our staff have continued to adapt and respond to the challenges facing our community and are a credit to not just the Community Trust but to the Club as a whole. The work we do wouldn’t be possible without the backing of Wigan Athletic, as well as national and local partners including Wigan Council, the Premier League, PFA and EFL Trust who I’d like to thank for their ongoing support. I am very proud as Chair of Trustees and I hope supporters take great pride in reading about the positive impact we have had.”

Where restrictions have allowed, appearances from Latics’ first team and academy players have provided participants and supporters, both young and old, with many moments to remember. From sharing their experiences on racism in the game with pupils to helping pre-school youngsters become school ready, alongside making garden-gate visits to older people at risk of isolation, players have continued to make an invaluable contribution and impact to the work of the Trust.

Wigan Athletic’s Chief Executive, Mal Brannigan said: “Prior to Phoenix 2021 Limited acquiring Wigan Athletic Football Club in 2021, the incoming Board were already aware of the work carried out by Wigan Athletic Community Trust and how integrated it was within the town and the region and so we were determined that the Club continued to strongly support the Trust in the future. We have enormous pride in how Wigan Athletic Community Trust uses the power of the Wigan Athletic crest to improve the lives of thousands of people a year. The report is a testimony to the outstanding work and commitment of the Trust’s staff and as a Club, we are immensely proud that people in Wigan and the surrounding areas are continuing to benefit as the Trust’s impact goes from strength to strength. On behalf of the Chairman, Talal Al Hammad and the rest of the Board, I would like to place on record our appreciation for the work that all Wigan Athletic Community Trust staff carry out and for their unwavering commitment to improving health, enhancing life chances and creating stronger, safer communities in Wigan and the region.”

To read the Impact Report, please [CLICK HERE]

featured imaage courtesy of Bernard Platt

“It wasn’t long before I came back to NCS”

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Travelling back to the summer of 2019, Charlie Boulby signed up to NCS, having no set idea on what to expect or what she was going to get out of it. Fast forward almost 3 years later, Charlie discovers new skills, new confidence and a new career on NCS with Sheffield United Community Foundation (SUCF).

NCS is the ultimate experience for young people aged 16-17, in which they are given the opportunity to make new friends, develop new skills and create new memories. Players of Sheffield United will be celebrating the success of young people on NCS as they will be hosting #NCSMatchday when they play Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday.

One of the testaments to SUCF’s successful NCS programme is Charlie. Upon Charlie’s initial first experience on NCS with SUCF, she took part in a social action project, which allowed her to make new friends and develop her own skills.

The Social action project phase of NCS is the conclusion of the programme, in which NCS participants band together as a group to generate ideas to make a positive impact in the community.

For Charlie, her group decided to raise money for a local heart charity. To raise the funds, the group used their innovation and charisma, as they hosted a quiz night, as well as hosting other small fundraising events. Their efforts were rewarded as they raised over £1000 for a charity her group was passionate about.

Charlie summarises her first NCS experience in Summer 2019:

“I did not have a clue what to expect and I ended up having the best summer of my life.”

After experiencing an incredible summer, Charlie didn’t want her NCS journey to end there. She joined SUCF’s NCS Local Youth Board which focused on raising awareness for important causes and supporting local charities within Sheffield. However, due to the pandemic, this opportunity was cut short and she decided it was a good time to focus on her A-Levels.

Once NCS was available to young people again, Charlie was keen to get back involved and applied to be an NCS Team Leader during Summer 2020 with SUCF.

“It wasn’t long before I came back to NCS after I applied to be a team leader for the summer programme. I felt that this was really rewarding as not only did it give me the opportunity to give something back, but it also boosted my confidence massively, especially after coming out of lockdowns.”

“Being a team leader gave me the opportunity to explore a different kind of responsibility that I had never experienced before. Working with young people from different backgrounds, I acquired a great set of social skills which came in handy as I applied for a degree apprenticeship with the police.”

With new skills acquired from her experiences with NCS, Charlie now possessed the right attributes and confidence, which allowed her to progress her passions even further, as she was able to secure a full-time role at SUCF as an NCS Recruitment Coordinator.

“I didn’t make it through the application process with the police, but I wasn’t deterred and most recently I was given the opportunity to work with the Foundation full time.

“Thanks to this, I’m now in a position where I’m learning a whole new set of skills including time management, project organisation and public speaking, all of which are putting me in good stead to get exactly where I want to be in the future.”

NCS staff, like Charlie, play such a crucial role in making young people’s experiences the best they can be. If you are interested in working on NCS this summer to gain new skills and build confidence, please click here

FIT FANS returned to Deepdale in 2021 with great success

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FIT FANS returned to Deepdale in 2021 with 59 men and women completing the 12-week programme at Preston North End throughout the last year.

The programme enables participants to partake in physical activity whilst also educating them on lifestyle habits that can be changed in small, manageable steps to create a sustainable lifestyle. Funded by Sport England through the National Lottery and run at around 40 EFL Clubs across the country. It is a free health programme for men and women aged 35-65 who are looking to lose weight, get fitter and lead a more active life.

One of the male participants, Vijay Parekh lost just under 10kg in weight and 6cm on his waist measurements, these changes also resulted in a reduction of his BMI. Vijay started his fitness journey prior to enrolling on FIT FANS with Preston North End’s Community and Education Trust but he credits the programme for his ability to lose weight whilst gaining increased knowledge on factors such as calorie intake, portion sizes and step counts.

He said: “It’s just been brilliant. Seeing the differences between the beginning and now, I’m really happy with it.

“Physically I’ve seen a lot of difference, mentally as well because losing weight has helped out. Mentally I feel better. I’ve gained a lot of knowledge in the sessions, which has been brilliant, just to help keep losing weight.”

Carole Baldwin was part of the cohort in summer 2021 but because of the positive effects it has had on her life, she has remained involved in the programme as a volunteer to support others starting out their FIT FANS journey.

She lost 10.2kg over the 12-week period and 13.7cm on her waist, figures and results that have changed her life.

She explained: “I’ve absolutely loved it right from day one. My blood pressure is down a lot, I’ve lost weight, I’ve gained confidence, I’m happier than I have been for years and years. I’ve now been given the knowledge and the skills to carry on with this for the rest of my life, and I will, I’ve no intentions of going back to the old Carol, never again, I’m staying like this forever.”

Average weight loss statistics for the FIT FANS programme are impressive and exceed those of many other programmes. On average women lose well over 3kg and men over 5.5kg by the end of the 12 weeks. We also have evidence that lifestyle change and weight loss is sustained over the following 12 months. More than 90% of men and 85% of women lose weight during the programme with many losing a clinically significant amount.  Our data shows FIT FANS helps people to increase physical activity, reduce sedentary time, leading to weight loss, a significant reduction in blood pressure and improvement in self-reported mental wellbeing measures.

To find out more about FIT FANS click here