Archive for category: News

Active Recovery, the Derby County Community Trust’s cancer rehabilitation programme, celebrated its second anniversary on 23^rd September. Over the last two years nearly 400 participants have engaged in the programme as part of their own recovery journey from cancer or through supporting a friend or family member through recovery.

The event, hosted at Pride Park Stadium, was attended by over 80 of the programme’s past and present participants, six of whom shared their stories before lunch and cake with donations going to Macmillan as part of their Coffee Morning week – which raised £111.45 for the charity.

Vincent Martin and Derek Puplett, were two of the participants to share their stories.

Vincent said: “I was diagnosed with myeloma in 2016 and it was a complete shock to everyone. I went from being the life and soul of the party to experiencing chronic back pain as a result of the cancer which made it unbearable to even move sometimes.

“My counsellor told me about the ‘Look Good Feel Better’ event at Pride Park Stadium where I met the Derby County Community Trust team. I only went to my first session in June, but it has already changed my life. The team, the exercise, meeting people I can talk to about my problems – it’s all revolutionised the way I think about things and I can deal with my back pain much more. I look forward to it every week and I’m even able to go on holiday again now which I never thought would be possible.”

Derek has been part of the programme since it started in 2017, and said, “I joined as soon as I heard about the programme after I was in recovery from prostate cancer. I wanted to get back to my previous levels of fitness and Active Recovery provided a way of doing disciplined exercise the way that I wanted to. The team wrote me a fitness plan to continue with while I was on holiday, it’s become such a way of life and has helped me hugely after gaining almost a stone after my surgery.”  

One participant sent her story to be read at the event as she couldn’t attend due it being her wedding day! She explained the role Active Recovery has played in her journey and particularly how Steph Thompson, Health Team Leader at the Trust has helped her.

Zara Scott said: “When I was diagnosed with my brain tumour in January 2018, I woke up from my brain operation and I thought my life was over. I couldn’t walk, I could only move the left side of my body and I couldn’t communicate.

“Since starting Active Recovery in March 2019, it has allowed me to push my fitness on to the next level and my confidence has grown so much since starting at the gym.

“Steph is amazing! She is so patient, encouraging and has boosted my confidence more than I could ever imagine. She takes her time to explain the benefits of the exercises and suggests further advice on diet to help me reach my goals.

“Unfortunately, I cannot be there today as it is my wedding day. Steph has even taken further time out to help me look fantastic in my chosen wedding dress!”

Active Recovery is available to anybody who is undergoing treatment or in the five years following their treatment. It is also open for partners, friends or family attend in support of the participant. To make a self-referral to join the programme please contact [email protected].

Sol Bamba joined the Cardiff City FC Foundation, the official charity of Cardiff City Football Club, as they celebrated Roald Dahl Day at Herbert Thompson Primary School.

Roald Dahl Day is an annual event that celebrates the worlds, characters and stories of the Welsh novelist, with Matilda at the heart of this year’s celebrations.

Pupils from Year 4 enjoyed learning about the Cardiff born novelist and the fun character that is Matilda, who could move things with her mind.

The session aimed to improve children’s confidence in reading and develop their creative writing skills.

Children were asked to write about what their superpower would be, inspiring creative writing. If reading Roald Dahl’s Matilda wasn’t enough inspiration, Bluebird defender Sol Bamba shared what his superpower would be and engaged with the children, helping to spark their creative minds.

This was not the first time fan favourite Bamba’s had visited Herbert Thompson as the defender regularly attends community events, using his presence and the power of the Cardiff City badge to change lives.

Sol Bamba said: “A good education is so important and I think the badge can engage youngsters, especially those who are Cardiff City fans.

“If I can be a role model and inspire them to work hard at school, then it’ll be my honour.“

Tobi, a Year 4 pupil from Herbert Thompson Primary School, said: “My superpower is being positive and being able to get through tough times. I look up to inspirational people like Sol Bamba and realise that I want to be like them someday.

“It’s been a really good experience and has helped us with our confidence. Sol Bamba is a really inspirational person to us.”

The visit was organised as part of the Premier League Primary Stars project, which uses the appeal of Cardiff City FC to inspire all children to learn, be active and develop important life skills.

The Bluebirds Charity recently celebrated 10 years of changing lives, during which time it has invested over £10 million in sport and education programmes across South Wales.

Over the summer Derby County Community Trust have delivered the You vs Train message to over 700 teenagers on their NCS programme. The campaign has seen Network Rail join forces with the EFL Trust to promote crucial messages around key dangers that are present on the railway.

NCS is a four week summer programme which prepares 16 and 17 year olds leaving school for the next stage of their lives.

Derby has been identified as a hot-spot where rail-related accidents and deaths are above the national average. The You Vs Train campaign aims to teach 11-18 year olds about the hidden dangers of the railway, including the electrified third rail, overhead lines and facts about trains themselves where dangers might be unclear.

Each of the eight waves of our NCS programme have taken part in a You vs Train workshop during Phase 2 of their four week project and learnt about the important safety messages that the campaign is emphasising.

Sessions have included interactive quizzes, poster presentations and inter-group competitions. All participants have reported learning at least one new fact about the railway that they were unaware of, and have spread the message to friends and family.

Simon Doherty, NCS Manager at Derby County Community Trust, said, “NCS is all about ensuring young people leaving school are prepared for the world around them as they move into further education, apprenticeships or careers.

“The You vs Train campaign has highlighted a key message that our teenagers need to know and we are pleased to have been able to help Network Rail and the EFL Trust in getting this information out there.”

12 Teens from Barnsley rolled up their sleeves contributing 400 hours to transform a local pond to make it sustainable for wildlife and an attractive space for local people to enjoy.

The group, who call themselves ‘The Pond Protectors’, only met 3 weeks ago after spending part of their Summer on NCS (National Citizen Service), a youth programme for teenagers aged 15-17.

As part of their time on NCS, the group planned and delivered a social action project in their local town. The group found that they had a shared passion for improving the local environment and so contacted South Area Tidy Team to support a project that they run.

This is where the team name ‘The Pond Protectors’ was born as the group made the decision to clear up Milton Top Pond. Harvey Kitchen,16, a member of The Pond Protectors said;

“”Our group is passionate about the environment because we all care about wildlife hence why we wanted to support Tidy Team and clear a pond which prior to us helping was driving wildlife out of their habitats”

400 hours of volunteering was spent strimming the banks and clearing the area of weeds and brambles to eventually fill a truck of garden waste. Finally, with the money they raised through bag packing at their local supermarket they bought houses to support the local wildlife.

‘The Pond Protectors’ group was made of teenagers from different schools in Barnsley which included; Horizon Community College, Penistone Grammar School, Barnsley Academy and also Dearne ALC. Harvey went onto say;

“It was very easy to make friends with each other and to talk to everyone in the group, we all got along and our teamwork was outstanding!”

“NCS was such a fun experience because amazing activities that we did during each week like raft building, self-defence training and raising money for our social action project.

“Alongside that, NCS helped me break out of my shell more, be more outgoing and made new friends on the way. NCS has taught me a lot about the community I live in as well develop my skills like public speaking.”  

Martyn Hall, Team Supervisor, from the South Area Tidy Team is delighted with the impact The Pond Protectors have made in just a week:

“The fantastic improvement these young people have made is here for all to see.  We’ve had numerous residents contacting us to make their appreciation known.

“The support from the local residents both with time and contributions will continue to help all involved to make this an enjoyable space for ALL for the future. 

“We very much hope to carry the momentum by getting people of all ages and abilities to continue to care for this wonderful space”.

Over 2,000 teenagers in South Yorkshire have taken part in NCS this Summer to challenge themselves, meet new people and to give back to their local community. For more information visit www.NCSYES.co.uk

As part of the You Vs Train campaign, Bristol City Robins Foundation brought young people from some of the most deprived areas of the city together to learn about the hidden dangers posed by the railway.

Each year hundreds of young people take on the railway and lose. Research conducted by the British Transport police found that young audiences all too frequently do not consider the railway dangerous and recent years have seen a steep increase in the number of serious injuries amongst young people caused by trespassing on the railway.

The dangers posed by the railway are not always clear, and if you are not hit by an unexpected train you could be hit by the lethal current in the rails and power lines.

The youngsters travelled by rail from various locations around the city into Bristol’s main Temple Meads train station where they met the British Transport Police, Network Rail’s local Community Safety Manager and Bristol City first team player Sammie Szmodics to take part in a rail safety workshop session. They heard about the dangers posed by the railway and the enormous emotional and physical consequences these dangers can have.

Speaking about the rail safety workshop session, Sammie said: “We saw videos of some real life footage of kids thinking it’s funny to cross the tracks and graffiti in tunnels when trains are about.

“The bottom line is it’s a very dangerous place and young people need to know that.”

After the workshop, the young people travelled again by rail to Bedminster where they took part in a small football tournament played on a pitch next to the railway, serving as a reminder of the ever-present danger posed by the railway.

Dan White, CEO at Bristol City Robins Foundation, said, “Football is loved by many, especially these young people.

“To use football as a tool to share this message about rail safety and the You Vs Train campaign is really important.

“If it makes a difference to one person who thinks again about crossing the line, then that’s a real positive outcome for us.”

Director of Operations at The EFL Trust, Mike Evans, said: “Bringing about positive change in the community is at the very core of The EFL Trust’s values.

“Football can be an enormous force for good and have a profoundly positive impact on communities – so we are delighted to be helping to tackle this issue in areas where young people are particularly vulnerable.”

Research shows that there are spikes in the number of trespass incidents at key times throughout the year – one of which is across the summer holidays – and that trespassing is a persistent issue amongst boys aged 11 – 18 years old. The You Vs Train initiative aims to tackle this problem by raising awareness of the dangers of trespassing and changing attitudes towards it, which will in turn reduce the likelihood of future trespassing.

For more information about You Vs Train please click here.