The EFL Week of Action is all about shining a light on the impact EFL Clubs have in the community.
In the EFL Week of Action, we visited a number of events with the Community Trust team and highlighted a number of brilliant initiatives they have taking place.
FALINGE TACKLES MENTAL HEALTH
One of the first things highlighted during the week was the ‘Falinge Tackles Mental Health’ story.
Thanks to funding from Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the Community Trust have delivered a range of mental wellbeing programmes which has engaged over 500 people, many who had not previously been engaged.
One programme was a Secondary Schools’ Mental Wellbeing Programme, that most recently took place at Falinge Park High School. This programme worked with many girls at the school who were identified as lacking confidence and needed help to develop their self-esteem and overall mental wellbeing.
Within the five week programme there was some incredible, noticeable changes in the girls.
TRAINEESHIPS
We also highlighted the brilliant traineeships that the Rochdale AFC Community Trust run.
These traineeships are a vital tool in helping young people and adults in Rochdale to develop their skills and experience they need to secure employment.
The traineeships have been particularly successful in helping young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to gain employment. Over the past year, more than 80% of participants in the Community Trust’s traineeships have gone on to secure employment or further education opportunities.
One of those was Blaine, who was recently crowned Young Sports Achiever of the Year at the Rochdale Borough Sports Awards.
There’s also been many others who have gained employment, and this is down to the great work from those who work within the Education and Employability team at Rochdale AFC Community Trust.
FIT DALE
The first event that we visited during the week was the Fit Dale event with the female cohort.
We wanted to highlight what the event was about and encourage those who were on the fence about joining the programme.
Chloe Meade, the Community Trust’s Health and Wellbeing Coordinator spoke to us about the programme, the first day of Fit Dale and much more in an interview.
The takeaway point was that the programme wasn’t just about coming and improving their physical health, but it was about improving their mental health and educating the participants about healthy lifestyles.
The programme is also about making new friends, a common theme throughout the programmes is that the groups form great bonds and share a real togetherness.
First team player, Tahvon Campbell visited the event and shared his story with them. Explaining what his diet consisted of and how he needed to change it during his recent injury, as well as how it’s now evolved during his return to training and first-team action.
ABILITY COUNTS JUNIORS
We also visited the Ability Counts Juniors awards session.
Emma Flynn, the Community Trust’s Social Inclusion Officer, handed out awards to those who had been attending the sessions to thank them for their commitment and efforts during the sessions.
All of the Ability Counts sessions are fully accessible and inclusive, and the Rochdale AFC Community Trust team pride themselves on adapting their sessions so anyone can take part.
The Juniors sessions are great for children to meet other children, allowing them to make new friends and develop social skills, as well as giving them some time to have fun during the sessions that are put together by the Community Trust team.
Aidy White was a special guest at the event. He handed out the certificates and medals and later got involved with the activities with the children after the ceremony.
Aidy spoke to us about the event as well as touching on why he has decided to become an ambassador for the Community Trust’s Disability Programmes.
DESMOND’S DRAGONS
The final event that we visited was Desmond’s Dragons.
The Desmond’s Dragons sessions are designed to be fun, inclusive and designed for people of all abilities.
At these sessions, the children learn new skills, make new friends and get active.
Coach Michael Beardsley, who led the session that we visited, spoke to us about Desmond’s Dragons, highlighting what the sessions were about.
At the end of the session, two children were awarded with ‘Trainer of the Week’ awards. Michael said that this was to reward the children who were putting in the most effort and having the most fun.
The EFL Week of Action has been a great opportunity for us to highlight some of the brilliant work that the Rochdale AFC Community Trust does. We hope that some of these projects and programmes have really highlighted the work and the role that the club plays in the local community.
