Ahead of the Colchester United vs Forest Green Rovers game on Saturday 3rd February, young ambassadors from Colchester United Community Foundation and Forest Green Rovers Community worked together to host a food and clothes bank collection, as part of Green Football Weekend.
Green Football Weekend uses the power of football to get supporters thinking about climate change. Fans were challenged to make pledges, with every pledge they make counting as a goal for the team they support. Examples of pledges could be; getting to the game on foot or by bike instead of driving. Food and clothes collections support Green Football Weekend as they help prevent billions of kilograms of greenhouses gases from entering the atmosphere.
The supplies collected were split 50/50 between CUCF and FGR Community, to distribute to local food banks and charities.
In Colchester, thanks to the amazing support from fans:
- 88kg of food and supplies were donated to Colchester Foodbank.
- 10 full bags of clothes and shoes were donated to Barnardo’s in Stanway.
These donations will go towards helping those most in need within our local community, food banks provide emergency food and supplies for people who need it. The clothes donation to Barnardo’s help generate income for their charity and promote sustainability and environmental consciousness.
This was also the launch event for our Premier League Kicks Youth Ambassadors. Five participants from our Premier League Kicks programme were selected to be ambassadors, they will be in charge of collecting the youth voice from people at their sessions, to influence change at their venues. They will also be in charge of creating social action projects, like food banks, to create positive change in their communities.
One the ambassadors, Joseph, said “being chosen as a youth ambassador was an overwhelming and enjoyable experience for me and I look forward to continue doing this”.
The young ambassadors also got the chance to meet the inspiring Kate Strong. Kate delivered the match ball for the game by cycling 160 miles in a bamboo bike from Stroud in Gloucestershire to the JobServe Community Stadium. Kate is a passionate advocate for sustainability and climate change action and it was a great opportunity for the ambassadors to ask her questions.
Premier League Kicks happens every week during the term time in; Greenstead, Clacton, Harwich and Shrub End. For more information visit this link - https://colchester-united-cf.classforkids.io/term/353