Josh Newbold, 17, from Rotherham has been awarded The High Sheriff Award after being recognised by The South Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit for his work in the community whilst on NCS (National Citizen Service) with Rotherham United Community Sports Trust (RUCST). Read more
The traditional NCS programme in summer 2020 was replaced with ‘Keep Doing Good’ giving young people the opportunity to be at the forefront of the response to the pandemic supporting their local community and the people within it. Whilst doing so, young people on NCS developed a number of important life changing skills.
This was the case for Megan Rooney who took part in Bradford City Community Trust’s NCS programme. Before NCS, although having a bubbly personality, Megan was very quiet and shy but this was all due to change. Megan signed up to NCS hoping to make a difference in her community during the pandemic but was unaware of the impact the programme would have on herself.
Whilst a little nervous, Megan was excited by the opportunity to meet new people and take part in activities she had never done before. Due to lockdown restrictions, part of the programme took place online which Megan found challenging at first, not speaking on camera preferring to type in the chat. Her confidence began to increase though during her first week when she took part with other teens in online activities around business enterprise, mental health and discovering more about Bradford.
Megan said:
NCS helped me to become more confident when working within a group and with people that I did not know. Having the opportunity to push myself out of my comfort zone helped as I would not have done any of these things without NCS.
Once restrictions had been lifted, her group were able to start planning their social action project and the team were keen to celebrate the City of Bradford; the different cultures, landmarks and play homage to the Key Workers. The team created mural which now features in key locations around the city including Valley Parade and Bradford’s train station. Megan was part of a design team for a mural which allowed her to come out of her shell and improve her confidence. Recognising how far Megan had come Bradford City awarded Megan with the ‘Most Improved Confidence Award’.
Megan is part of a network of 600,000 teenagers aged 16-17 that have done NCS. The opportunity to do NCS this Summer is now available.
Visit www.wearencs.com.
Demi, 17, from Doncaster was one of thousands of teens in Yorkshire and Humber to take part in NCS during the pandemic.
COVID-19 has impacted all ages, non-more so than Young People and before starting the NCS programme Demi admitted that she felt mentally drained and had lost track of where she was on her life journey. When the opportunity of doing NCS with Club Doncaster Foundation came along she was desperate to get involved; not only to set her mind at something but to help people in her local community that had been affected by the pandemic.
Demi would describe herself as outgoing but the thought of meeting new people during the pandemic was daunting and made her anxious. She was however really looking forward to connecting with people once again and building her confidence back up. All this was made easy by Club Doncaster Foundation who put on a number of activities such as mental health awareness and the challenges surrounding mental health in Doncaster, Befriending training, and learning more about her local community and volunteering opportunities available.
Demi and her group put the befriending training into practice on their social action project as they all took time to ring elderly people in Doncaster as part of EFL Trust’s ‘Tackling Loneliness Together’ initiative.
Demi continues to be part of NCS as part of Club Doncaster’s Local Action Group. She said: “NCS has taught me a lot of skills and helped with my confidence, I have really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to anyone considering it!”
Demi’s Mother said:
“We saw Demi grow day by day during the programme, it was a real pleasure to see her putting her name forward to come on this programme. The amount of effort and hard-work she has put in shows that the young people of today really care about looking after the world and their future.”
Demi’s mother
To read more on the NCS programme visit – www.wearencs.com
After such an ‘unprecedented’ year that has impacted the opportunities and aspirations of our nation’s young people, the roadmap out of lockdown was welcome news…with the end of the restrictions hopefully now in sight.
The good news of a ‘way out’ has been offset by some stark data that has been released recently showing that young people are still faring worst, and facing a slow recovery. With this in mind, it has been great to see the appetite of our network of Club Community Organisations (CCOs) to take this challenge on by offering Kickstart and Traineeship opportunities – key elements of the Government’s ‘Plan For Jobs’ – along with the CCOs offer of study programmes, apprenticeships and Higher Education.
This month’s report by Youth Futures Foundation found that young people have been particularly hard hit by a slowdown in hiring since last year. The rollout of the Kickstart Scheme, which funds job placements for 16-24 year olds for 6 months, will help combat this issue and EFL Trust are working with over 70 Football Club Community Organisations to offer 650 funded placements across England and Wales through the Scheme. Earlier this month, we ran workshops with our network of Kickstart employers, and it was great to hear the wide range of roles that are being planned for young people across the Football Clubs and the Community Organisations, including within the media and marketing teams, academy operations, community coaching, grounds keeping, youth work, and much more. Our first Kickstart placements are up and running and already we are hearing about how well-supported the young people feel, and how excited they are for the six months ahead.
To underline our commitment to supporting youth employment, the EFL Trust are proud to have signed the Good Youth Employment Charter; a pledge that we will follow the principles of good youth employment, including providing opportunities and developing talent, and we urge all of our partners on the Kickstart Scheme to do the same. A special mention to Sheffield Wednesday Community Programme for being the first to do so…
While there are some great opportunities for young people closer to the job market, it’s vital that those who were not engaged in education or employment before the pandemic hit are not left further behind due to the growth in youth unemployment numbers. Last week we were delighted to announce our Youth Futures Foundation funded ‘EFL Trust – Training Ground’ programme, which will support these young people to overcome the barriers they are facing, through a programme developing their physical activity, mental health awareness and resilience, and building the skills that they will ultimately need in order to move into good quality, sustained employment or further education.
February’s Labour Market Statistics briefing note from IES identified growth in employment in the Health and Care sector, and the EFL Trust have been working closely with NHS Employers and a number of individual NHS Trusts to create employability programmes focussed towards roles where there will be vacancies, preparing young people to work in the sector. Although in its infancy, this partnership work has the potential to be really powerful, with the EFL Trust and its partner Club Community Organisation engaging with stakeholders across the community to recruit participants on to an employability programme with jobs in mind. With programme delivery launching in March and April, I’m looking forward to seeing some impactful provision and powerful individual success stories.
While the challenges are clear to see, we are grateful to partner organisations that are supporting our plans over the coming months, including DWP and Youth Futures Foundation and most of all to the delivery staff within Education & Employability departments at our CCOs who are going to be delivering these programmes at as high a quality as ever.
We believe, more than ever, that our network have a key role to play in the ‘roadmap’ back to normal – remember that? – and tackling the youth unemployment challenge head-on is first on our list.
A group of students studying our USW Foundation degree with Wolverhampton Wanderers have been part of the big team effort in supporting the Clubs Feed Our Pack initiative to try and help alleviate food poverty in their city.
Jeevan Kang, Richard Lewis, Taylor Sankey, Sofi Makarounas and Louis Guttridge spent a day during February half term as part of Feed Our Pack’s first major distribution of food parcels with over 1,500 meals delivered to families across the local community. The five students joined Foundation staff as well as Wolves captain Conor Coady and several Academy Under-18 players in what will prove valuable experience in studying for the degree in conjunction with the University of South Wales.
Jeevan Said
“As a student at Wolves Foundation I had the opportunity to join in and get involved and it was a really good experience. It was a really good day for a really good cause, helping children within the community who are struggling in terms of finance and food. I think as a human being the best thing you can do is give rather than take – the vulnerable need it more than we do. And it’s just that feeling you get again with giving, it’s just the best feeling you can have.”
Richard was equally positive about being able to do something to make a positive difference to the local community.
“I was brought up in Wolverhampton, and when I was at school this wasn’t around when my friends needed it, so being able to see that aspect is something I’m proud to be part of, We went out to deliver food parcels to the local children who are vulnerable and need it more during this time than they ever would with their parents not being able to get to work as much. Despite going through these troubled times, we’re still able to get some experience. With the Feed Our Pack project, going out and helping out the local community, is still giving us that aspect of learning and how things are run behind the scenes.”
Bradley Moore, Education Officer and course mentor at Wolves Foundation, was delighted that the students were able to play their part in such an important project.
“It was great to see the degree students so keen to help with Feed Our Pack and they were all a credit both to themselves and the course. The degree course is based around blended learning which means the lectures that would normally take place at Molineux are balanced with going out and gaining experience at the same time. That experience might include coaching, taking PE sessions at schools, learning sports management skills, or making a major contribution to other Foundation projects just like Feed Our Pack. It is almost like picking up three years of work experience at the same time of learning via lectures, and as a result the employability rate is really good for students to go into different jobs within football or sport education after they graduate.”
The degree in Football Coaching, Development and Administration is run in partnership with the EFL Trust and the University of South Wales, with large parts of the students’ timetables based at Molineux, along with work placements within the Foundation.
Jeevan adds
“This degree has a really good track record of getting people into full time roles within football and the sporting industry, And studying at Wolves is the best thing you could possibly think of. “You are studying the thing you love, which is football, but it is at a professional football club. So you know that you’re going to get the best support possible and you’re going to interact with the best coaches possible too. And the good thing about this course is, it’s not just straight on lectures and studying. “It’s basically three years of work experience which will really help you further progress into your career.”
Richard admits that even with certain restrictions in place because of the pandemic, the degree has functioned excellently and given students plenty of learning opportunities.
“It was quite worrying at the start, thinking that we would only be doing our lectures. But we have been able to get out there and challenge ourselves as students to see that we can go out and do good things in the community and show how we are as people and what we can do. That’s what makes this course stand out is the fact we can get a huge amount of experience by being part of the club!”
Anyone interested in finding out more about the Foundation’s degree course can register an interest by clicking here to complete and submitting an Expression of Interest form.
Four generations of women from one family are getting involved in football, thanks to Bristol City Robins Foundation’s innovative ‘F3’ project.
A lack of opportunity for girls to get involved in football was identified by three teenage members of the Robins Foundation’s Youth Council – a body of eight young people who use their in-depth knowledge of the local community to help shape the Foundation’s delivery. Youth Councilors, Lauren, Grace and Mel, came up with the idea of starting free football sessions specifically designed for women and girls, as a means to make the beautiful game more accessible to females. The trio wanted to ensure that the project was accessible to all and therefore setup three separate age specific sessions for females to attend, all of which take place simultaneously at the same venue.
The project has had a particular impact on one family with four generations of women – that’s daughter, mother, grandmother and great grandmother! – all regularly in attendance at the weekly sessions.
Ruby-Lee, the youngest of the four generations at 14 years old, was the first to start attending Free Female Fitness sessions (otherwise known as F3) four years ago. Ruby-Lee was one of the first participants to attend and has since flourished as a footballer, becoming more confident in not only her ability as a player but also in herself as an individual. She now not only takes part in the weekly sessions, but also plays for local girls’ team Stockwood Wanderers.
Word spread of the F3 project from Ruby-Lee to her mother, Alena, and grandmother, Mandy, and with some encouragement from Ruby Lee, three generations of the family all began taking part in the weekly sessions.
However, it did not stop there, as word further spread to Ruby-Lee’s grandmother, Diane, who also began attending the sessions some fifty years since having last played football.
Former Youth Councilor and current F3 coach, Grace Phillips, said,
“It’s great to see so many women and girls coming along to our sessions and getting involved, but to have four generations of one family all in attendance, really is something special. It exemplifies that football is a game for all. A lot of the girls use our sessions as a springboard to go on and get stuck into grassroots football, with many following Ruby-Lee’s example and joining local sides. This is great for the sport as a whole.”
Alena commented,
“I am really enjoying the sessions and am seeing improvements in both my fitness and health. Since starting F3, I have lost more than two and a half stone. “I am now also bringing my friends along to the sessions as well as my mum and gran.”
Diane, the eldest of the four generations, commented,
“it’s really nice to be getting active and playing sports again that I haven’t played for many years.“I’d say to anyone who is thinking of coming along, or to their grandparents, just come and enjoy yourselves.”
F3 has since been recognised on a national level with the project winning the FA Women’s Football Award for Best Participation Initiative.
Steph Houghton thanks Sunderland AFC’s official charity in role they played to kickstart her career.
Steph Houghton became a household name following her exploits in the 2012 Olympics, scoring three goals in Great Britain’s four games. However, the England skipper was already familiar to thousands across the north east, especially those in Sunderland, who had followed her progress with great interest after she kickstarted her career with her hometown club.
Steph joined a Foundation of Light soccer course during her school holidays and was spotted by a coach from Sunderland AFC and invited for a trial.
“It was during the Easter break,” Steph remembers. “I was scouted and joined the Centre of Excellence, where I was lucky enough to play for my hometown club.”
Steph, who now captains Manchester City and has 121 international caps to her name, credits SAFC’s official charity with many of the successes in her career and she’s quick to pay tribute to the career pathway that the Foundation programmes offer.
“The Foundation have played a huge part in everything have done in my career. They allowed me to learn the fundamentals of football, whether that was technical or tactical, but also the importance of having to work hard every day,” she added. “I’ve so many great memories of my time working with the Foundation and the coaches, I used to get so excited for Monday night training at the Raich Carter Centre or Downhill.
“I was so proud to be representing SAFC in tournaments against all the other teams in the country and testing myself against the best in the country. My biggest memory was being put forward to go on a trial for England.”
Steph is now familiar to millions, not just on the pitch but off it too, for her work with charitable organisations, but the 32-year-old remains humble and still keeps a close eye on what’s happening on Wearside, with the Foundation of Light recently announcing that they would be introducing a Women’s Scholarship team.
“I think it’s amazing that girls’ football has grown so much in the last decade. The fact that female scholarship programmes are over-subscribed only bodes well for the future of the game and also for Sunderland itself as a club!”
“The north east has always been passionate about football, to have so many players who I had grown up with, who had played for Sunderland competing in the 2019 World Cup was such an experience and such a proud moment for me, but no doubt the club and coaches too.”
BURTON Albion Community Trust’s impact on the wellbeing of the people of East Staffordshire has never been more needed and an impact study has shown that when it really mattered the charity was there to help.
In any normal year, BACT’s reach into the community, its ability to help and motivate people and its position at the heart of the community is always there to be seen. But add in a pandemic that has had a serious impact on people’s physical and mental health, finances and employment prospects and that help was needed more than ever. Now, the evidence of an independent impact report has showcased all the good work BACT does. As well as supporting the NHS with the Pirelli Stadium acting as a vaccination centre, BACT has notched up more than 1,000 volunteer hours, delivered 4,147 care and activity packs, 752 emergency food parcels and even 23 weekly dog walks.That’s all in addition to BACT’s normal programmes, which reached 6,781 participants in 2019/20, including 4,603 schoolchildren. During the same period BACT’s direct economic impact was measured at £2.6m, £842,000 of which was through employment.
The numbers matter, but it’s the benefits felt by the participants that is BACT’s real reward. Whether that’s physical or mental wellbeing, individual or community development, BACT has delivered.
Head of Community Matt Hancock said: “Back in September 2019, we were excited about what we were going to achieve in the final year of our Inspiring our Communities strategy. The year started brilliantly, and you will see throughout the impact report the difference we have made largely thanks to the efforts of our fantastic staff.
“I am always proud of being involved in Burton Albion Community Trust but from March 2020 onwards I have never been prouder of our achievements. The Board of Trustees, led by John Jackson, and Chairman of the Football Club, Ben Robinson, have completely embedded Burton Albion into the community response when our communities really needed us.
“The pandemic has caused much distress, upset and pain for so many people across our communities but the way both BACT and Burton Albion FC responded from day one has made a huge difference to lives across East Staffordshire and the surrounding areas.”
BACT’S Chairman John Jackson is delighted that the impact report shows just how important the charity is to the area.
He said: “It is with great pride we are able to evidence through this report that, despite the devastating impact of Covid-19, we are making a difference in our communities. This report is external evidence that our programmes do change lives and although many programmes were adapted to respond to the rapidly changing circumstances, we have maintained a focus of high quality throughout.”
The report was compiled by EventID Sports Consulting Ltd on behalf of Burton Albion Community Trust. Read the full report here
EFL Football Clubs in Portsmouth, Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Nottingham have been awarded a collective £400,000 from Barclays to feed hungry people, combat loneliness and ensure that these vital services continue to be available as we eventually move out of the pandemic.
The Football Club Community Organisations are amongst 100 UK charities to be awarded a £100k donation from the ‘Barclays Community Aid Fund’, designed to support COVID-19 relief work in local communities. The programme, which forms part of their wider COVID-19 Community Aid Package, focuses on supporting UK charity partners who are meeting the immediate needs of people in communities, including low income families, those facing financial hardship, isolated elderly people and key workers.
The 100k donation has allowed Pompey in the Community to continue its co-ordination of food deliveries for the vulnerable, isolated and needy. To date more than 4,600 people have benefited from their food parcel deliveries. In addition, the funding will allow the charity to enhance its socially distanced activities such as ‘pop up’ afternoon tea, hot meal deliveries and interactive Zoom sessions, which will not only support the charity’s immediate response but ensure projects become embedded and will continue in the future.
Clare Martin, Director of Community Projects at Pompey in the Community, said: “This funding has really supported us in providing the city such a vital and impactful service during the Pandemic. Our provision is continually developing in direct response to the needs of the city and the continually evolving situation. It’s been a real privilege to be able to support so many people.”
The donation to MFC Foundation will be used to fund the continuation of its work of distributing food parcels to those who need it most at this time. Working with the Food Poverty Partnership, the Foundation will also ensure that the funds are used to enhance sustainable food options in Tees Valley for the foreseeable future, ensuring that there are accessible and affordable options available for local people.
Helena Bowman, Head of MFC Foundation said: “This is a significant investment for MFC Foundation and will make a huge difference to individuals in our community who, unfortunately, are in a position where they require support with food. We will ensure that this funding is used to sustain a long-term impact.”
In Sunderland, the funding will support the award-winning community charity to connect with 5,000 households in Sunderland, South Tyneside and County Durham over four months who are facing, or who are already experiencing these challenges. Thousands of care packages will be created to include food packages and resources for families/individuals experiencing financial strain, including access to free online cooking courses to teach them how to cook healthy meals on a budget, as well as access to free weekly challenges to encourage people to stay active whilst staying safe.
Foundation of Light Chief Executive, Lesley Spuhler OBE said, “Our region has some of the poorest communities in the country. Since the crisis hit in March, we have been working incredibly hard to support some the most vulnerable and ensure we can keep them physically and mentally active. It is absolutely imperative that we continue to help those who most in need; not only those in deprived areas who are facing an incredibly tough winter, but also those who have found themselves financially insecure as a direct result of the COVID-19 crisis.”
Nottingham Forest were delighted to receive the significant donation, which enabled them to transform the level of strategic support they have been able to provide for the people in their local community with the greatest need, including major healthy food provision for children, families living in temporary local authority accommodation and vulnerable people of all ages who have been in need of regular food supplies and essential household items throughout this emergency period.
Graham Moran CEO, Nottingham Forest Community Trust said, “The Barclays donation allowed us to focus resources and services where they were needed most and played a vital role in support of the amazing private, statutory and third sector response to the Covid-19 emergency across Nottingham.”
Nigel Higgins, Barclays Chairman, said: “COVID has created an unprecedented social and economic impact in the UK, with many experiencing greater hardship due to the crisis. Incredible charities, such as these Football Club Community Organisations, have been playing a vital role in the UK’s response to the pandemic, ensuring urgent help reaches those most in need of support. As a bank we have been doing all we can for our customers, clients and colleagues, and we hope that by partnering with these organisations and many other charities across the UK, collectively we can ensure that as many people as possible in the communities in which we live and work are supported through this crisis.”
Six EFL Football Clubs are part of an exciting new programme which will provide 18-24 year olds with the key skills and experience to find employment.
The EFL Trust’s Training Ground programme is part of a new portfollio of programmes supported by with the Youth Futures Foundation. Initially the Community Organisations at six Clubs; Blackpool, Sheffield Wednesday, Blackburn Rovers, Hull City, Oldham Athletic and Bradford City will target young people that are really struggling to get a foothold in the workplace. The initiative is aimed at 18-24 years olds that are furthest from the workplace and will help participants by enabling them to take on new education, employment or training opportunities leading to long term career progression.
Adrian Tallon, EFL Trust’s Head of Education and Employability said. “This is a unique opportunity for young people to overcome barriers and unlock their potential. They will be supported through our Training Ground programme which takes a holistic approach to employment. The programme provides practical support and training, alongside mentoring and wellbeing activities that will increase the confidence and overall wellbeing of participants.”
The Youth Futures Foundation was established to find, fund, support and evaluate programmes which help young people to move into meaningful work. Unemployment amongst 16-24-year olds is currently four times as high as any other age group; those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds face the biggest challenge in getting a job.
Youth Futures Foundation’s Chief Executive, Anna Smee, commented: ‘We are delighted to support EFL Trust’s Training Ground Programme. Youth Futures Foundation is committed to a society where all young people have equitable access to good quality jobs, by identifying ‘what works’, investing in good practice and initiating new ways of working – to ignite systems change. This partnership will support our ambitions and help to deliver our vision.’
The Training ground programme presents an opportunity to gain accredited skills and qualifications combined with increased personal development, culminating in a work placement. Additional support will be provided throughout by a dedicated mentor and a targeted health and wellbeing programme. Skills wise the programme will include the development of English & maths functional skills, digital skills, health & safety, money management and customer services. The programme will also include workshops covering personal development areas such as resilience, interpersonal and employability skills as well as improving the participant’s physical and mental health.
One young person who already benefitted from a similar EFL Trust Employability programme is Dominic Thicketts from Blackpool. Before Dom attended the 12 week traineeship programme with Blackpool FC Community Trust, he was unemployed and always at home feeling isolated, lacked confidence and had very low self-esteem. As part of the traineeship he successfully passed Maths, English and First Aid qualifications and undertook a work placement at Tesco. Subsequently Dom successfully gained employment with Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
Dom comments, “I’ve never been employed and, so it was a really big step. However, Blackpool helped me with more aspects of my life than I could have actually hoped for, and I want to make them proud with what I’m going to accomplish.”
– ENDS –
EDITOR’S NOTES
Youth Futures Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit organisation established with a £90m endowment from the Reclaim Fund to tackle youth unemployment. Our vision is of a society where all young people have equitable access to good quality jobs. We aim to achieve this by identifying ‘what works’ to inform policy and practice, investing in proven approaches and evaluation via our grants programme and initiating new ways of working to ignite systems change. Young people are at the heart of our work with charities, local authorities, social enterprises, employers and government to help those who face the greatest disadvantage and discrimination to access and progress into meaningful work. For more information visit www.youthfuturesfoundation.org and follow us on Twitter @YF_Foundation
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