Blackburn Rovers open Community Wellbeing hub at Ewood Park

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Blackburn Rovers Community Trust recently opened a brand new Community Wellbeing Hub at Ewood Park; an innovative facility and a first of its kind to be available free of charge within a professional football stadium in England.

The opening of the Community Wellbeing Hub further showcases the commitment of Blackburn Rovers to improve people’s mental and physical wellbeing, as the Community Hub will provide a safe space for those seeking help in a non-clinical and welcoming environment.

Aiming to connect and empower people with a mental health need through effective and coordinated service delivery, Blackburn Rovers Community Trust will work closely with the NHS, and as part of this, the Hub will support their ‘stepping up/stepping down’ strategy, so individuals can receive the help needed for personal recovery and independence.

The Community Wellbeing Hub is free to access, and will provide shared office space, breakout rooms and leisure spaces for health-related organisations to work from and see their clients.

More than 50 people from various organisations attended the official opening of the Community Wellbeing Hub in September, including senior representatives from the NHS and Blackburn with Darwen Council.

Also present was first-team player Dominic Hyam, embodying the ‘One Rovers’ ethos that underpins both the football club and the Community Trust’s approach to community engagement.

Blackburn Rovers Community Trust CEO, Gary Robinson, and Head of Health and Wellbeing, Eddie Owen, also presented to those in attendance regarding the importance of the Hub and the facility’s strategic objectives.

Speaking about the launch of the Hub, Gary Robinson, said: “Planning for the Community Wellbeing Hub started more than three years ago and I am very excited that we are now in able to launch the facility that will help thousands of people.

“We care passionately about improving people’s health and wellbeing. After extensive research, we discovered there was little or no non-clinical safe spaces for people to utilise for physical and mental wellbeing support.

“Unfortunately, there can be a stigma attached to clinical settings, and this can discourage people from reaching out for help, when for some this could be the best way to receive the help they require to recover and improve their wellbeing.

“There could be a number of reasons why people visit Ewood Park and we want utilise the outstanding dedicated community space to open up more opportunities for people to get support. We are really looking forward to the difference we can make now we have this unique facility.”

The opening of the Hub at Ewood Park marked a significant achievement for both the Community Trust and Blackburn Rovers Football Club, demonstrating the unwavering dedication to the local community and how important the club is too many people, both on and off the pitch.

Blackburn Rovers Head of Health and Wellbeing, Eddie Owen, added: “I’m extremely proud to lead such a pioneering project. Blackburn Rovers Community Trust and its partners feel collectively we have a brilliant opportunity to showcase this unique community wellbeing facility that supports local health related organisations, partners and participants to help improve access to quality care.

“We are looking forward to referring participants into the Community Wellbeing Hub from our current 20 health and wellbeing initiatives.

“We truly believe sport and physical activity has an extremely important part to play in promoting positive mental health and wellbeing. We thank everyone who came along to the successful launch of the Hub, and we are looking forward to developing our brand new health and wellbeing strategy over the coming months.”

EFL Trust Supports Growing And Groundbreaking Youth Voice Programme

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The EFL Trust – along with four EFL Club Community Organisations – are empowering youth voice in several communities via a pioneering programme.

The charitable arm of the EFL is partnering with the Youth Endowment Fund, the #iwill Fund (a joint investment between The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport) and the Co-op group to deliver regionally a 12.7million programme called The Peer Action Collective.

Bradford City FC Community Foundation and The Tigers Trust (Hull City AFC’s official charity) will deliver the programme within the Yorkshire and Humber region.

In addition, The Robins Foundation (Bristol City FC’s official charity) and Exeter City Community Trust will deliver PAC in the south west region of England, all giving young people the chance to make their communities safer, fairer places to live.

Dominik Stingas-Paczko, Head of Participation and Community Engagement at the EFL Trust, said: “We’re delighted to be chosen as a regional partner again and support our network of Club Community Organisations in delivering this ground-breaking youth voice programme.

“Over the past two years, more than a thousand young people in Yorkshire were engaged with as part of the Peer Action Collective work, driven by young people at the forefront and Club Community Organisations using the power of the Club badge.

“We’re very much looking forward to being part of the next leg of the Peer Action Collective’s journey  – now supporting Yorkshire and the south west of England – in providing a platform for the vital views of young people to make positive change in their communities.”

Since the launch in 2021, PAC has seen over 6,800 young people across the country taking on the issues affecting their local communities and creating solutions. Over the next five years PAC will impact the lives of over 11,000 young people in England and Wales through peer research and social action.

PAC is a ground-breaking network of Peer Researchers, Social Action Leads and Changemakers.

Young people with lived experience of violence find out what needs to happen to make their area a better place to live and turn it into action.  From influencing school practises, to improving local mental health services, co-producing violence reduction strategies or supporting more young people into employment – together, they are ensuring that young voices respond to issues that directly affect them.

In Yorkshire, young people provided their voice to a wide range of concerns to them, including Peer Researchers spearheading group sessions at Wetherby Young Offenders Institute where they acquired the views of a group of convicted young people as well as providing them with football enrichment.

Youngsters also attended the Houses of Parliament, speaking to MPs, about their experience, the programme and findings from young people, and even met with Bradford City manager Mark Hughes during EFL’s Week of Action where they had asked him press conference-style questions and informed him about the differences made in city.

Helen Goulden OBE, Chief Executive of The Young Foundation added: “The Peer Action Collective’s youth-led approach has already shown huge potential to reduce experiences of violence and shape a fairer future. As we launch into a five-year programme, I am genuinely excited about what might be achieved and the power of younger people to effect the change they want to see in the world around them.”

To find out more about the project, visit the Youth Endowment Fund’s website. To find out more about Co-op’s work with young people, please visit coop.co.uk/gamechangers

Port Vale FC Captain offers inspiration to Vale’s Education Squad

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Port Vale FC skipper Nathan Smith welcomed new members to the Club ‘family’ at the launch of Port Vale Foundation’s Education Squad Programme.

The captain, who’s been with the Club, since 2014 – appearing more than 300 times for The Valiants – presented to a new cohort of learners for the popular education initiative which kicked off at Vale Park at the start of the 23/24 season.

Following an enrolment on a BTEC level 2/3 in Sport, the learners met Nathan at Vale Park with their families, where the captain outlined the culture, values and expectations throughout the Club.

Nathan said “The importance the Club places on valuing people is of the highest importance. We invest time and energy into making people the best they can be, and we set high standards for all staff, volunteers and learners.

“It was great to meet new members of the Port Vale family and give them a congratulations on achieving the required results as well as giving them insight into the way we do things at Port Vale.”

The Foundation revealed 23/24 Education Squad Goalkeeper Tom Beeby was called up to the club’s first team which shows the programme’s impact which operates in conjunction with Stoke-on-Trent College.

The EFL Club Community Organisation said: “We’re immensely proud that Tom’s hard work and positive mindset has given him this amazing opportunity.”

 

 

Rt Hon Dame Rosie Winterton visits award winning Fit Rovers Families project.

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During the final week of the current post-natal Fit Rovers Families course on Wednesday, participants were joined by Doncaster Central MP, Rt Hon Dame Rosie Winterton, after she was involved in the team being presented with the League Two Project of the Year Award at the EFL Awards ceremony at the Houses of Parliament earlier this year.

Participants were celebrating completing their final week of the course, with a fitness circuit, followed by a teddy bear’s picnic, giving them the chance to interact with each other alongside VET’s participants from previous courses. During the picnic, Rt Hon Dame Rosie sat with participants to discuss the course and find out why they’d decided to join the programme.

The post-natal course is a FREE 6 week programme, based at the Foundation Fitness gym at the Eco-Power Stadium, designed for new parents, to help ease them back into exercise following birth. The programme enables new parents to attend with their baby, eliminating the worry of childcare for individuals.

The two hour weekly session covers a wide range of health and wellbeing topics, such as mental and physical health, nutrition and mini first aid. Parents get the chance to socialise with other parents while their babies can enjoy a variety of sensory play, which differs each week during the first hour.

Following this, the second hour focuses on physical activity, with low intensity exercise classes, including Buggy HIIT sessions, resistance band training, circuit classes and yoga, all being completed with their baby by their side.

After completing the 6 week course, parents are supported with referrals to other programmes, such as the hugely successful Fit Rovers and Fit Rovers Ladies programmes, to help them continue with exercise and their physical and mental health.

Rt Hon Dame Rosie spoke of her visit to the session: “I was so proud that Club Doncaster Foundation won this award, I’m so impressed with all the work that’s gone into making this project a success. To actually see it live here, is just incredible and inspiring.

“It was great to see the number of mum’s that were there today, who were really keen to participate.”

After sitting down with some of the parents attending the session, Rt Hon Dame Rosie discussed the feedback she’d had from participants, about the course: “The mum’s said that getting on this course meant that they could bring their babies along and they could keep exercising too.

“The babies are going to be looked after here and they can keep an eye on them too. Some of the mum’s have had C-sections and were nervous about what exercises they could and couldn’t do and the advice from the staff here has helped them. They also said it’s been good for their confidence, mental health and meeting new people.”

“As a Foundation, here, you’ve got people coming from all over, coming together, getting to know each other and the community spirit really builds up.”

The post-natal project, alongside other Fit Rovers projects, is funded through the NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board and has been running since November last year. Emma Price, Head of Transformation at the ICB, also attended the session on Wednesday and has been pleased with how the project has taken off over the past few months, including winning the League Two Project of the Year award at the recent EFL Awards.

“We’ve seen lots of mums and families join the programme and even had a number of mum’s moving on to attending our Fit Rovers Ladies programme too.

“This programme is the only one in the UK that is linked with a football club. What we’re going to see over the next 12 to 18 months for this project is the growth into the community.

“The course is completely free. By going into the community and expanding the programme further, will really help the project and support even more families going forward.”

Plans are already being drawn up to take the award winning project into the local community, offering the course to even more parents across the city, more so for those who may not be able to travel to the stadium on a weekly basis to take part in the programme currently. One area that the health and wellbeing team are looking at targeting, is the Bentley area.

Nabeel Alsindi, GP + Place Medical Director for the ICB was also in attendance at the session on Wednesday, to take a look at what a regular session entails. He spoke about what he witnessed: “It’s really inspiring. We see a lot of people, such as young mum’s, who are struggling in the period after giving birth, and peer support really helps, which is something that is evident here, after being here for just a few minutes.

“I’m really excited to hear there is plans to expand to the local community. It can be hard for people to get to central locations, so bringing these services to people can help break down these barriers.”

Are you a new or expectant parent, interesting in our FREE pre or post natal courses?

Contact [email protected] to speak with a member of the Fit Rovers Families team.

JED WALLACE MEETS ALBION & ENGLAND STAR EESA AMJID AHEAD OF IBSA WORLD GAMES 2023

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West Bromwich Albion captain Jed Wallace welcomed Baggies and England blind footballer Eesa Amjid to the club’s training ground, to pass on some inspiring words before the2023 IBSA World Games.

Eesa and the Para Lions faced Germany, Argentina and China in the group stages before beating Mexico in play-off game to end their tournament on a high.

Eesa’s discussed with the WBA skipper his remarkable journey in blind football so far – from taking up the sport as a nine-year-old with The Albion Foundation, to scoring for England as a teenager.

After introducing Jed to blind football and putting the skipper through his paces with a blindfold on, Eesa spoke about his excitement for the IBSA Games and his bronze-winning experience at the IBSA EURO last summer.

Hosted in Birmingham, the 2023 IBSA World Games, which took place in August, was  a multi-sport event for blind and partially sighted athletes.

West Bromwich Albion and The Albion Foundation were represented by Eesa, along with Selina Prieto in Women’s blind football.

The Foundation hope to have even more England stars in the future with sessions running for children with visual impairment during term-time as well as weekly sessions for adults to train and compete with their Championship and Premiership Blind Football teams that play within the National Blind League.

 

Every Player Counts with Northampton Town Community Trust turns Loyd’s world around.

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Having struggled both physically and mentally, Loyd joined Northampton Town Community Trust’s Every Player Counts programme. The programme turned out to have such an impact on him and his ability to turn his life around, he now volunteers on the Trust’s disability programme.

“Back in 2012 I was informed about Northampton Town’s involvement with community projects via The Bridge. I was introduced to Russell Lewis and a weekly football training session.

“I became heavily involved with this project over four years, participating in the weekly training sessions, tournaments and with the creation of an 11 a side squad that participated in weekly evening league games. I thoroughly enjoyed all of this but unfortunately due to a change of shifts with my full-time job, I was sad to say my goodbyes to Russell and the team mates who had become friends.

“Juggling full time work and hobbies became increasingly difficult with life becoming busier and I found myself doing less exercise, becoming less sociable and my mental health crashing with reoccurring bouts of depression and anxiety. When I first joined, I was in the middle of a long episode of depression and anxiety and my involvement with football helped me to cope and recognise signs and symptoms on how to deal with it. However fast forward to 2022 and I found myself overweight, not exercising and feeling like my mental health was declining. So, I decided to fall back on the coping mechanisms I learnt from my past involvement and decided to make a positive change.

“I started to conduct research on the Northampton Town Football Club website and read up on the community projects that the club were involved in. Due to working at Northampton General Hospital, I work shifts, but Every Player Counts sessions fell perfectly on my day off. So, I sent a message and enquired if this is something I would be able to attend and made my way to the session. It had been several years since I last attended a session like this, so with my current state of mind I was even more anxious and nervous. However as soon as I arrived, I saw welcoming faces from years gone by welcoming me back and I felt like I hadn’t been away. Russell introduced me to all the new members, and I absolutely loved it. I was hooked again.

“The weekly session of Every Player Counts gave me the focus to be mindful of what I ate and exercise that I could do during the week to improve my session when I played football. For those couple of hours once a week, I forgot any worries and everything else except football. It was amazing and I felt so positive and happy following every session. I had forgotten how much I love playing and how football can offer so much more with opportunities to meet new people and the personal effects it can have both mentally and physically. I was making healthier choices and feeling great.

“I wanted to be involved as much as possible and enquired if there were any other sessions I could join or help with. So, I was invited to attend additional Every Player Counts sessions and was introduced to NTFC’s Multi Disability teams. This was a personal changing point. These sessions have led to opportunities that I am so grateful for. I have now started my coaching journey with the club, attended various training courses and taken responsibility for coaching teams in Multi Disability games, against various BOBI league teams and Premiership clubs in a host of disability tournaments and festivals.

“Involvement with NTFC community projects over the past year has given me opportunities to attend various disability workshops and training courses which have led to various voluntary coaching opportunities. Including coaching alongside Russell and a small team of NTFC coaches to help implement new blind football training sessions. Working up close with a small team of highly experienced professional coaches and blind participants is an amazing opportunity I am grateful for, both personally and professionally.

“I have accepted that I may always have mental health issues but projects like Every Player Counts, coaching and volunteering with the NTFC multi disability teams has provided me with future learning and development opportunities that have given me the tools and confidence to deal with various challenges. In the past year I have struggled and going forward I’m sure I will at times, but my involvement in these projects has helped shaped the way I deal with my mental and physical health.

Football has given me the confidence, drive, and ambition to better myself. I am now so excited to see where my coaching journey with NTFC will take me.

“Thank you, Russell, the community projects and Northampton Town Football Club.”

Loyd Mitchell, Every Player Counts Participant

Sunderland AFC gets David ‘Back on Track’

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David Little left school in 2017 with very few qualifications and low in confidence.  He joined Sunderland AFC’s Foundation of Light’s, ‘Back on Track’ programme and started a journey with his Football Club that eventually led to him securing full-time employment with a locally based company, ‘Vantec.’ 

The Foundation’s Back on Track programme is specifically designed for students who leave school with little or no qualifications. The programme engages, inspires and educates young people aged 16-19 by helping them achieve nationally recognised qualifications, improve their numeracy and literacy skills and gain practical working experience.

At the start of  the programmes, David often shied away from group tasks causing a knock-on effect to his already low confidence.  Consequently, David struggled with his self-esteem and had no clear vision on what he desired his future to look like and was therefore hesitant on making decisions that would correlate and affect his future.

Despite this, the support and guidance of the Foundation’s staff along with David’s perseverance would eventually pay off.

With programmes ending and unsure about his next steps, David started to experience anxiety. It was then he was told about a potential two-week work placement with Vantec – a logistics solution provider in the automotive parts logistics field.

Determined to grab the opportunity with both hands, David quickly accepted the proposal put forward to him by Foundation staff, with the latter eager to help David prepare as efficiently as possible.

Ahead of his work experience placement in August 2022, David was supported with interview preparation, he received help updating his CV and was provided with useful information around Vantec and who they were as a business.

Despite being very hesitant in the early exchanges of his two-week placement, David grew in confidence, completing tasks on his own and using his own initiative.

While on placement, David was also supported financially, receiving lunch and travel bursaries. Regular site visits were made to catch up with David enabling Foundation staff to find out how he was getting on and if he needed any further support.

At the end of his placement, Vantec offered David a full-time contract. Although Vantec staff felt he still had a lot to learn, they were very impressed with David’s attitude and dedication, which ultimately played a key part in David gaining full-time employment.

Anthony Parkinson, a Skills Officer at the Foundation of Light, has built a good rapport with David, helping him to become more work ready. He said: “David is the epitome of how the Foundation of Light can transform someone’s life.

“Staff that have worked previously with David over the years are really proud of how far he has come. Through hard work and determination, David deserves this opportunity.”

David continues to work at Vantec with his employers very impressed with his development. He added: “I’m loving it so far. I really like it here. Thank you to the Foundation of Light for helping me get this opportunity.”

Swansea City AFC Foundation’s FIT JACKS participants collect 50kg of food for local foodbank

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Swansea City AFC Foundation’s FIT JACKS participants collected 50kg of food for the Swansea Community Fridge foodbank to mark the end of their training programme.

The participants brought 110 items to their final FIT JACKS session for the local foodbank, having planned the donations with participant Layla Lucas, who manages Swansea Community Fridge.

The food was delivered to Swansea Community Fridge, which has seen a rise in demand during the COVID pandemic and subsequent cost-of-living crisis.

Layla was delighted to see her fellow participants come together to support the campaign, having suggested the idea to the group.

“It’s absolutely amazing, I thought we might get three or four tins here, but to get as much as we did is great, especially with the cost-of-living crisis,” said Layla.

“At Swansea Community Fridge we take in surplus food from supermarkets and other places, and we distribute it to the community to prevent waste going to landfill.

“I thought it would be nice for the group to have a collection for an organisation that organises food, it didn’t have to be mine, but after running it by the Foundation they were happy to take part and thankfully everyone got on board.

“This will help us feed up to 200 people with our food parcels each week, it’s a huge benefit, some weeks we don’t get much food from supermarkets so this will help supplement it.”

To find out more about your nearest FIT FANS programme,  please contact your local Club using the list below.

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    Wildcats with Derby County Community Trust gives Blythe the opportunity to progress onto the FA Talent Pathway

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    Blythe attends Derby County Community Trust’s FA Wildcats provision and she has become a role model to those around her, but she was not always the confident, bright young girl she is today.

    The programme aimed at young girls aged 5-11 promotes a non-competitive, fun environment for all from those wanting to try football for the first time to girls who just want to play the game with girls the same age as them.

    With emphasis on fun, Blythe has not only done that but has shown such enthusiasm, and commitment to the sessions that she epitomises the Wildcats values.

    Blythe’s commitment paired with her talent has seen her refereed to the FA Talent Pathway.

    The Talent Inclusion programme ensures that through existing community activities,  participants with potential can be identified and referred to the FA England Women’s Talent Pathway. The programme is specifically run by EFL Club Community Organisations, who engage with young girls from low social economic communities and underrepresented groups, and looks to refer talented players who may not access traditional talent pathways due to social class, ethnicity and demographic.

    When first attending Wildcats, Blythe was a shadow of the person she has become today, a shy character with very low confidence. The programme has provided her a safe, enjoyable, consistent environment to excel in with the potential to provide her opportunities that she would not be granted if she was not to attend.

    Wildcats has had such a huge affect on Blythe, that she has recommended it to her peers in and outside of school but it is not only Blythe who the programme has impacted.

    Blythe’s mother Rose, works tiredly to provide opportunity and an amazing life for her children and with the Trust being so important to her daughters development both as a person and as a football player, Rose has started her own journey with the Trust as a way to give back.

    She volunteers her own time to help out on the delivery of Wildcat sessions, Premier League Kicks sessions and holiday activities that the Trust run throughout the year.

    EFL Clubs roll out new BA Hons Degree increasing education opportunities for all.

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    Football fans who want to learn about the business of football can study at their football Club thanks to a new BA Hons degree course in Sports Business Management which will be available at 17 EFL Clubs from September 2023.

    Delivered in partnership with the University of South Wales, the degree is specifically designed for students who are looking for a career in business and management within the sports industry. Each individual will get the unique chance to study at their local football Club, often at the stadium via an online learning platform and will receive mentoring support and practical work experience through the Club’s community organisation.

    To launch the degree, BTEC students from QPR were invited to demonstrate their business acumen and to come up with ways to boost match day revenue for the Club. Their ideas were pitched to a group of football ‘dragons’, including QPR players Josh De Silva and Trent Rendall.

    You can see how they got on here.

    QPR are one of 17 EFL Clubs running the new degree from September where students will cover topics including business planning, financial management and marketing.

    The first pitch at the launch event was by Avante Joseph and Myles Mari who presented the ‘QPR App, giving fans the chance to access exclusive content about the Club, from the men’s first team to the academy, as well as live commentary of games.

    The second pitch by Denzel Magezi, Matheus Rossi and Oliver Hearn-Lee proposed the ‘E-sports room’ offering fans the opportunity to compete in E-Sports tournaments against their heroes in renowned games such as FIFA and Fortnite.

    The final pitch came from Angela Oceja, who’s idea was a pre and post-match ‘Community Festival’ to ensure the Club embraced every aspect of its local community. It would give a platform to local DJs, performers, food business and other local entertainers to participate.

    On the judging panel the ‘dragons’ included Josh De Silva and Trent Rendall from QPR, Emily Fermor of Hanbury Strategy and Jay Probert from the University of South Wales.

    Emily said: “We were very impressed with the plans and it was obvious that the students had done their market research. We were particularly impressed with how each pitch had considered and looked to improve the fan’s experience and deciding the winner was very difficult.”

    After a long deliberation of three very impressive pitches the judges awarded Denzel, Matheus and Oliver’s ‘E-sport room’ as the overall winners, with the trio taking home their very own tablet as their prize. Trent commented: “The market research the students had carried out was very impressive. We could really see how this would work and would be something that we’d be excited to get involved in.”

    Cathy Abraham, Chief Executive of the EFL Trust said, “The degree is a fantastic opportunity for people to learn about the business side of sport and to do so while getting invaluable hands on experience at a professional Football Club. This is another great example of how Clubs use the power of the badge and their unique position in the community to improve people’s education and chance of gaining meaningful employment.“

    Clubs delivering BA Hons Degree in Sport Business Management:
    Accrington Stanley, AFC Fylde, Barnsley, Birmingham City, Burton Albion, Cardiff City, Carlisle United, ,Derby County, Exeter City, Hull City, Leyton Orient, Lincoln City, Nottingham Forest, Preston North End, QPR, Sheffield United, Shrewsbury Town, Tranmere Rovers,West Brom Albion.

    To find out more about the degree go to www.efltrust.com/ba-sports-business-and-management/