BEST SPORTS COMMUNITY SCHEME – CLUB
City Thrive by City in the Community – City in the Community, Manchester City
Manchester City’s charity, City in the Community, has launched a new mental health initiative for young people in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘City Thrive’ is the first of its kinds amongst a Club Community Organisation in the UK. Emphasis is placed on early intervention, prevention and the promotion of mental health and wellbeing.
A dedicated team has developed a new mental health curriculum, blending specially adapted football sessions with one-to-one mentoring and group workshops on mental health awareness, to improve wellbeing. Reaching all participants aged up to 25, City Thrive sessions are embedded within existing programmes.
City Thrive is unique because of its partnership with the NHS. When designing the initiative, CITC worked with ‘Manchester Thrive’, an NHS programme which aims to support young people and families, allowing quicker access to the best specialist support.
An integral part of this programme is the CAMHS Clinician based within directly within CITC offices four-days-a-week. This role creates an opportunity to engage vulnerable populations that the NHS can’t access through traditional approaches and ensures CITC participants do not need to wait for support. Every encounter with a child/young person will provide an opportunity to assess emotional health and wellbeing and unmet needs.
Dons Local Action Group with AFC Wimbledon Foundation
Dons Local Action Group is a network of volunteers working with local communities to tackle food, digital and furniture poverty. The organisation was formed in March 2020 by AFC Wimbledon fans responding to the Covid-19 crisis, initially providing food to vulnerable people in Merton. As the pandemic worsened, we expanded our remit and committed to tackling ongoing issues with poverty. We are now a permanent organisation working in Merton, Kingston and Wandsworth to keep our community fed, connected and supported. Each month on average:
• Our volunteers collect 18 metric tonnes of food donations worth £46,000 outside 11 supermarkets.
• We pack more than 1,300 food boxes, distributed to 200 households. This ensures 260 vulnerable adults and 300 children have healthy and nutritious food,
and cleaning and sanitary products.
• We donate the equivalent of 2,000 food boxes, worth £50,000, to our 17 foodbank partners, homeless charities and women’s shelters
• 25 items of furniture and household goods, worth £1,000 are delivered to families in need
• IT equipment and support to upgrade tech facilities worth £4,000 is provided to local schools
Leicester City in the Community
Leicester City in the Community (LCitC) are a registered independent charity, governed by a board of trustees. One of two official charities of Leicester City Football Club (LCFC) our aim is to engage, inspire and empower communities across Leicester and Leicestershire, through togetherness, respect, and pride – these values underpin the work we do and are driven by a staff and volunteer team.
Over the 2021/22 our services and activities have made a real impact on the lives of children, young people and adults in an education and community setting – enabling people from all walks of life to improve their education, develop crucial life skills, make new connections, and improve their physical and mental wellbeing.
LFC Foundation
As a club born from the local community, Liverpool Football Club’s values and family ethos is central to what we do. ‘The Liverpool Way’ defines us as a club and charity, amplified by the passion of our fans around the world to come together and help those in need.
Over the last year we have worked with 83,000 people with two thirds living in the top 20% most disadvantaged wards in the country. We have doubled in size as an organisation in the past three years allowing us to create more life changing opportunities for young people.
We run over 50 programmes across our six impact areas of Sport and Physical Activity, Health and Wellbeing, Education and Life Skills, Employment and Training, Youth Interventions and Community Engagement, averaging 195 sessions per week.
We work with over 200 partners and funders enabling us to have a positive impact on many people in the community using sport as a vehicle for positive change. We also support five Community Wellbeing hubs in areas of high deprivation, and we fund additional partner organisations to deliver vital interventions such as food pantries.
We are extremely proud of the impact we are making in our communities.
Saints Foundation – Saints Foundation
Saints Foundation is the charity of Southampton Football Club – we are the club’s way of giving back to our city. We deliver community projects which support local people in fulfilling their potential, helping them to lead happier, healthier lives.
We use insights and data to identify the greatest needs in our city and focus our delivery to support and empower those who need it most. Our work is coordinated with our club and more than 50 city partners to make sure we make maximum impact, when and where it’s required.
Last season, Saints Foundation marked our 20th anniversary of transforming lives in our local community. Whilst we celebrated this significant milestone, we know that people’s need for our support has never been greater.
We have reviewed our strategy aligning it closely with the ever-changing diversity and needs across our communities. This allows us to continue evolving in our approach, ensuring we champion real change for those residents in Southampton for the next 20 years and beyond.
