Coventry City to celebrate community heroes at this weekend’s match against Preston
Prior to this weekend’s match versus Preston North End, COVENTRY City will honor and recognize the contributions made by “local community heroes.”
Members of Sky Blues in the Community, the club’s charitable arm, and the family zone will receive “Hero Pennants” from the club as part of the EFL’s “Community Weekends.”
At the Coventry Building Society Arena, the pennants will be presented on the field prior to City’s match against Preston on Saturday, February 22, which kicks off at 3 p.m.
These include Pat and Lynn from the Family Zone, Isabella from the Girls Emerging Talent Center, Finley from Hereward College, John from SBitC’s Dementia Active sessions, and Alex from SBitC’s Down’s Syndrome sessions.
During the EFL’s Community Weekends, which will take place from Saturday, February 22, to Sunday, March 3, local heroes from EFL Clubs will be honored and acknowledged for the contributions they make to their communities.
During this time, clubs, managers, and players will recognize the important work that volunteers and community workers do all year long. Additionally, players will pay tribute to Community Heroes through special visits and matchday events.
As part of matchday activations, supporters will have the opportunity to learn more about the variety of initiatives their club offers and how they can get involved, as well as hear from individuals whose lives have been altered or even saved by their club’s community work.
“Community is a fundamental part of the EFL and its 72 Clubs’ identity,” stated Trevor Birch, the EFL’s CEO.
The various programs’ participants as well as the towns and cities where people reside greatly benefit from the work that clubs do.
Because football clubs are trusted in their communities, it may be easier for people to get support. Clubs are effectively tackling issues related to education, employment, health, and well-being while also maintaining community links.
We are excited to honor and celebrate this outstanding work during the Community Weekends in front of the game-goers.
“EFL Club Charities engage more than 1 million people in our communities throughout the year,” stated Debbie Cook, EFL Director of Community.
The ability to highlight the Club’s community service as a whole and to recognize the efforts of participants and program leaders, many of whom are volunteers, truly demonstrates the breadth and significance of this essential activity in assisting local supporters and citizens.
The recent EFL Week of Action in November, where the League and its Clubs highlighted the tremendous social impact Club community work has on towns and cities in England and Wales, was a great success, and the EFL Community Weekends build on that.
The most recent community impact report, which can be accessed here, valued this at more over £1.24 billion per season.
With an average of 6,084 sessions and 11,134 hours of help per Club, EFL Football Club charities provided 438,033 sessions over 801,661 hours throughout the 2023–2024 season.
Coventry City Football Club’s charitable arm is called Sky Blues in the Community. The charity offers a wide range of programs and projects to help people from young people to adults in their older years.
This involves increasing access to education and training, lowering crime and ASB involvement, promoting social inclusion, boosting health and wellbeing, and improving sport.
Currently, the organization invests more than £1 million in our local communities and works with more than 2,000 people every week.
A team of enthusiastic and committed individuals at SBitC are working tirelessly to improve our city.
By using sport and the Coventry City crest, they seek to change the lives of those who need it most and improve our neighborhood.
On Saturday, we will honor our Sky Blues in the Community and Coventry City’s “EFL Community Heroes” by putting their “Hero Pennants” on display on the field prior to kickoff.
The following individuals were selected as our Community Heroes from the Family Zone and four SBitC projects:
John, Active Dementia:
For the past two years, John, a supporter of CCFC, has dedicated his Friday mornings to our Dementia Active workshops in Warwick. He consistently arrives early each week and is eager to get going.
John, who used to be an avid golfer, now participates weekly in a wide range of activities, such as chess, boules, archery, basketball, football, mini golf, table tennis, darts, and much more.
John really appreciates being able to participate in these safe sports thanks in large part to Dementia Active.
John also mentioned how much he valued the session’s social benefits, particularly the opportunity to build deep connections with other participants and staff (SBitC & NHS).
Down syndrome, Alex:
Because Alex has been a participant in our Down syndrome session for a long time, he was selected as one of our community heroes. Alex has become increasingly self-assured and confident in social situations.
He watches after the younger members of the group and is a pleasure to have in the session. He is always smiling when playing football and enjoys telling us about his biceps while tensing his arms. In order to participate in our lunchtime sessions, he has informed me that he want to attend Hereward College and study athletics. Excellent work, Alex.
Hereward College, Finley:
Finley participates fully in every activity we host and is a pleasure to have around during all of our sessions at Hereward College.
He consistently puts his all into all he does and is one of the very few that assists with setting up and taking away equipment without being asked! Finely never fails to have a big smile on his face and enjoys discussing the sky blues!
Girls Emerging Talent Center, Isabella:
Isabella is a kind and amiable person. She is socially confident and doesn’t shy away from a conversation with the coaches and her peers.
We believe she has the ability to unite people and build good relationships with anyone.
The time a foreign player joined the ETC is one instance. Isabella was the first to approach her and put her at ease because she was anxious and didn’t know anyone.
Family Zone, Pat and Lynn:
Since its creation in the middle of the 2000s, Pat and Lynn have been at the center of Coventry City’s matchday Family Zone.
In order to be a warm and committed presence for our young fans at every home game, Pat and Lynn play a major role in organizing the Family Zone activities ahead of each matchday.
They provide activities that guarantee the next generation of Sky Blues supporters will have an amazing time.
Leave a Reply