On today’s EFL Day of Action, we have celebrated all the amazing work which the club, our partner charity Exeter City Community Trust and the Supporters’ Trust carry out in the community.
Across the football leagues, the EFL’s Day of Action sees clubs sharing stories of amazing community work.
And here in Exeter, we’re proud of the work we carry out in the community every day. After the challenges of the last year, there has never been a better time than now to highlight the important role that football plays in supporting local communities by talking about all of the impressive projects that are delivered by EFL Clubs each day of the year.
Throughout the Day of Action, players and managers from clubs across the EFL joined participants in a range of community activities including food bank deliveries, projects to tackle loneliness and mental health, support programmes for refugees and asylum seekers, initiatives for children living in poverty, and disability sports sessions.
At Exeter City FC our players are always willing to support our community work. Recently Jake Taylor, Matt Jay and Nigel Atangana supported a huge community effort to sort more than £50,000 worth of food and personal care items for 550 vulnerable families in Exeter.
Despite the financial and logistical challenges that EFL Clubs have faced during the last 12 months, community work has remained at the heart of football, with Clubs and Club Community Organisations (CCOs) continuing to provide vital support to some of the most vulnerable people living in England and Wales. The importance of football Clubs to their local communities has never been clearer than in the last year, with millions of people across the nation relying on their local Club for food donations, mental health and wellbeing support and even transport to and from Covid-19 testing and vaccination sites.
During the pandemic, Exeter City Community Trust has:
- Delivered 695 food parcels/shopping delivered to vulnerable people - 695
- Provided 980 hot meals or sandwiches
- Made 30 calls per week to participants or supporters
- Delivered 165 prescriptions to people who are vulnerable or shielding.
Jamie Vittles, chief executive of Exeter City Community Trust, said: “Over the years we have developed our services to meet the needs of some of the most vulnerable in our society. Whether that is working to ensure children receive nutritious food during the school holidays, working with young people at risk of dropping out of school, or supporting older members of our community through our sporting memories group.
“Our charity, club, and supporters’ trust take our role in the community very seriously and we will continue to deliver support wherever we are most needed.”