Thank you to everyone to came to our Community Day at Sheffield United on Sunday and helped to make it such a success. Even the weather stayed fair despite the forecasts! The atmosphere was good and it was great to see such a diverse array of people at a football ground all enjoying the football and other entertainment together - particularly striking were the large numbers of Asian and Somali women and girls - from grandmothers to babies!
We are proud to say that around 20 local young people involved with our project as Millennium Volunteers or 'V's, alongside several members of our staff, had attended an NVQ training course in Football Stewarding and Events prior to the event and were working as stewards on the day, while being assessed by NVQ assessors. This we feel led to an increased sense of ownership by the local community and helped the event to run smoothly - as well as enabling young people to gain qualifications and improve their job opportunities and self-esteem.
Other clubs and supporters' groups including those at Barnsley and Notts County are now taking up the Community Day model, holding events at their own clubs.
Community Day also saw the launch of 'Unity', Football Unites' free newsletter, containing the latest news about our activities. It's free so just give us a ring or email us if you'd like a copy - or if you can distribute some for us.