As part of the EFL Community Weekend campaign, Exeter City have chosen to shine a light on the work of the six charities which are supported by our recently launched Exeter City Community Fund.
Six Devon charities and the people who work for them are being celebrated at St James Park at Saturday's match with Cambridge United, as part of the EFL Community Weekend campaign, which has been established to celebrate the community work of football clubs and their community organisations across the UK.
The Community Initiative at Exeter City raises funds throughout the season through various activities, including donations from our new Eco Cups. The charities are:
- Exeter City Community Trust
- Exeter Community Initiatives
- Alright Mate? CiC
- Exeter Leukaemia Fund
- Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services
- Refugee Support Devon
As part of the EFL Community Weekend campaign, each charity was asked to nominate a hero, who has gone above and beyond for their organisation. As well as attending the game today they were invited to St James Park this week, where they met staff and players from the club who heard all about their work in the community.
Exeter Leukaemia Fund (ELF) nominated Rachael Jones, a chemotherapy sister at the Haematology Centre. The charity selected Rachael because of ‘her commitment to further studies in the field of Haematology and the many fundraising challenges she has completed to support ELF’. As well as undertaking an MSc into the experiences of patients, Rachael took part in two significant fundraising challenges, the Two Moors Way and the South West Coast to Coast.
Exeter City Community Trust (ECCT) nominated Pete Ferlie for the accolade. Pete, who has been involved with the running network in Exeter for more than 40 years, is race director of ECCT events. Jamie Vittles, chief executive of ECCT, said: “Pete has been integral to the growth of our running events over recent years. He is an incredible ambassador for us and passionate about inclusivity across all of the activities he is involved in.
“He also co-ordinates our Sporting Memories groups, which are for older men, and the care and affection he shows towards this role are second to none. He’s a really important part of the Exeter City family and we’re proud to nominate him for this campaign.”
Nick Hawker, chair of Exeter City Football Club, said: “We are very grateful to the staff and volunteers who do so much to support our community through the six charities who we are supporting this season. This EFL campaign has been a fantastic way to celebrate their work and help raise awareness of the work they are doing to as many people as possible.”
Trevor Birch, CEO of the EFL, said: “Community remains a fundamental part of the EFL and its 72 Clubs’ identity, so we are delighted to launch the latest strand of activity in this area – the EFL Community Weekends. The work undertaken by Clubs has a hugely positive impact on the participants of the various programmes and the towns and cities where people live.
“Football continues to reach parts of local areas that others simply cannot and successfully addresses challenges linked to health, wellbeing, education and employment alongside helping to keep communities connected. We look forward to celebrating this incredible work in front of match-going fans over the coming two weekends across our network.”
Liam Scully, Chair of the EFL Trust, said: “Our Clubs and Club Community Organisations engage more than 840,000 people from EFL communities all year round. To be able to showcase the Club community work as a collective and acknowledge the work of participants and programme leaders, many of whom are volunteers, further highlights the unique ability of our network.”
The EFL Community Weekends build on the success of the recent EFL Week of Action in November – where the League and its Clubs shone a light on the significant impact Club community work has on towns and cities in England and Wales, valued at over £865m a season in the latest community impact report.
During the 2021/22 season, EFL Clubs deployed a workforce of almost 10,000 (of which over 4,000 are volunteers) to support community activities, delivering in-kind support of over £40m and more than 120,000 hours of free or subsidised usage of community facilities to benefit the lives of those living in the local community.
For more information on the EFL Community Weekends and the impact of EFL Club community work please visit www.efl.com