As part of the Nationwide initiative, Mansfield Town Community Trust celebrated their 'Community Hero' last night at the Mansfield Town Fixture against Sutton United.
As part of the celebrations, Alex Cartwright was pitch side at half time, presenting two signed Mansfield Town shirts, donated from Mansfield Town Community Trust to our Walking Football lead, Alan Brookes and Active Minds / Health and Wellbeing volunteer, Alan Hodgkinson for their fantastic work this season.
Alan Brookes – Alan has come from being a participant on our Walking Football programme, to becoming the lead for the project. The Mansfield Town walking football team regularly trains twice a week on Saturday’s and Thursday, with Alan organising competitions and fixtures for the team to play. Our walking football programme provides the opportunities for over 50’s to still play and compete in football, representing Mansfield Town, and provide life changing experiences.
Alan Hodgkinson – On Friday morning, the trust opens its door to people with learning difficulties, poor mental health and those suffering from isolation to take part in activities and to socialise with others in a warm and welcoming environment. Alan has volunteered with the trust for the past 6 months, helping out on Friday mornings to give those who attend our sessions a safe and enjoyable experience. The trust are very grateful for Alan lending his time to help those in need in our communities.
Trevor Birch, CEO of the EFL, said: “Community remains a fundamental part of the EFL and its 72 Clubs’ identity, so we are delighted to launch the latest strand of activity in this area – the EFL Community Weekends. The work undertaken by Clubs has a hugely positive impact on the participants of the various programmes and the towns and cities where people live.
“Football continues to reach parts of local areas that others simply cannot and successfully addresses challenges linked to health, wellbeing, education and employment alongside helping to keep communities connected. We look forward to celebrating this incredible work in front of match-going fans over the coming two weekends across our network.”
Liam Scully, Chair of the EFL Trust, said: “Our Clubs and Club Community Organisations engage more than 840,000 people from EFL communities all year round. To be able to showcase the Club community work as a collective and acknowledge the work of participants and programme leaders, many of whom are volunteers, further highlights the unique ability of our network.”
The EFL Community Weekends build on the success of the recent EFL Week of Action in November – where the League and its Clubs shone a light on the significant impact Club community work has on towns and cities in England and Wales, valued at over £865m a season in the latest community impact report.
During the 2021/22 season, EFL Clubs deployed a workforce of almost 10,000 (of which over 4,000 are volunteers) to support community activities, delivering in-kind support of over £40m and more than 120,000 hours of free or subsidised usage of community facilities to benefit the lives of those living in the local community.
For more information on the EFL Community Weekends and the impact of EFL Club community work please visit www.efl.com
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