- Paul Douglas and Brian Chapple, Rotherham United Football Club to present
Minutes:
Paul Douglas, Chief Operating Officer, and Brian Chapple, Rotherham United Football Club, were in attendance at the meeting to give a brief outline of the work of the Rotherham United Community Trust, the new Stadium and examples of health facilities within stadia.
Rotherham United Community Trust – formed in 1997
Mission Statement – “to utilise the brand of Rotherham United Football Club and the power of sport to positively influence and enhance the diverse livestyles of the people of Rotherham”
- Education
o Classrooms currently in temporary facilities – developed in partnership with public and private partners
o 51 apprenticeships working out of the GOALZ Centre – commended for the retention rates
o Working across the Borough on issues such as anti-bullying and anti-truancy
- Participation
o Working in number of primary schools across the Borough delivering coaching where it might not otherwise be delivered
o Players actively delivering mentoring
- Cohesion
o Full-time officer
o Just received “Kick It Out” Equality Standard, the industry standard for football. This had only been awarded to 30 clubs out of 90 and Rotherham was the only Club at its tier to receive the Award
- Volunteering
o 1 of only 8 Clubs in the football world invited to pilot the National Citizen Service Programme and awarded the Leader of Best Practice nationally for the work the Club had led on
o Currently there were 51 volunteers
- Disability
o The Disability Officer ran regular sessions for those with additional needs through the partnership with RMBC, ILS and Voluntary Sector Consortium
o “Aiming High” project engaged over 40 young disabled people every week. Afterschool coaching delivered
o Healthy Hearts Programme set up to deliver multi-sport, diet and nutrition sessions for disabled adults
- Heritage
- Health
o Wake Up Shake Up – Sessions took place prior to the school day promoting the importance of eating a good breakfast and giving children aged 7-11 years the opportunity to take part in some light exercise
o Extra Time delivered in 4 care homes
o Allotment project
It was stressed that the Trust had not been established due to the new Stadium but had been working for a number of years without any facilities delivering outreach work; the new Stadium would only improve and enhance its work. It had taken a long time to get to the present situation with the Stadium but the Chairman had been clear that it had a role to play in the community.
Numerous meetings had taken place with organisations to explore and maximise the opportunities the Stadium could bring. Those discussions now needed to be confirmed to help shape the design of the space.
The Trust had carried out a massive amount of work in the communities; the challenge for the future was to capitalise on it and link it to use of the facilities.
Discussion ensued with the following points raised/clarified:-
- Consideration had been given to use of the Stadium to music events etc. but felt that there was sufficient facilities in the area as well as engineering design issues
- National Time for Change Campaign – tackling anti-stigma in mental health and the connection with sport. Some work was currently carried out with Doncaster Rovers
- Linking in with Mental Health Charity “Breakthrough” – display of artwork produced by those suffering with mental health. Sheffield United were part of the scheme
Paul and Brian were thanked for their presentation.